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THE

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ILLUSTRATED.

VOL. XI.

LONDON :
E. MARLBOROUG-H & CO.. 4, AVE MARIA LANE. & II, WARWICK LANE.

BATH:
ALFRED SMITH & CO, 6, BATH STREET.

MDCCCLXXIII.

5<?2>, asta SHa.

v^'oTDEX TO VOL. XI.

I.— TITLES OF ARTICLES.

Answers to Correspondents, 32, 48, 64, 96, 112, 128, 160,
176

City Delivery Posts (The) of San Francisco, 67, 162
Correspondence, 16, 31, 48, 64, 96, 111, 128, 144, 160, 176,
190; the proposed philatelical congress, 16; an
international exchange association, 31 ; in re the
Japanese stamps — a correction, 32 ; a word of en-
couragement, 32; notes and queries, 32; date of
issue of the third Parmesan series, 48 ; the question-
able Ecuador stamps, 48 ; New Granada " Sobre-
porte " 1868 stamps, 48 ; a stamp exchange club, 64;
fiscal stamps, 64 ; the papers for beginners, 64 ;
eight-and-sixpence worth of rubbish, 64 ; a home-
made permanent album, 96, 160 ; a horrible " tail,"
111 ; the meetings of the London Philatelic Society,
111; the stamped envelopes of the United States,
112; the Hamburg post-card, 112; notes on the May
number, 112; Mr. Overy Taylor's continuation, 128;
current Chilian envelopes, 128, 160 ; the La Guaira
stamps, 128; varieties of watermark, 144; Russian
local stamps and Finland post card, 144 ; the Turks
and Caicos Islands Act, 1873, 176 ; queries about
stamps, 176 ; the alleged use of German stamps in
Switzerland ; reciprocal exchange of post cards be-
tween Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, 190 ;
Roumanian post cards, 191; obliterated copies, of rare
stamps, 191; the United States locals, 191

Dangerous Forgeries, 16

Errors of Watermark on the Stamps of New South

Wales and Victoria, 108
Extracts from my Private Note Book, 182

Frankfort Newspaper Stamps (The), 175

Important, 177

Ineligible Classes (The), 38

International Post Cards, 184

Introduction to the Study of the Russian Local Stamps,

97, 124
Monsell's (Mr.) xVnnual Report, 132
Morton Stamps (The) : Mr. Panopoulo's Explanation, 81
Motives for the Emission of New Series of Stamps (On

the), 22

New Granada "Bogus" Stamps, 15

Newly-issued or Inedited Stamps, 7, 21, 40, 56, 74, 85,

105, 117, 136, 152, 168, 185
Notes and Queries, 157
Notes for Collectors :— Austria, 4, 115, 140
Novel Race (A), 61

Obituary, 159

Obliteration Marks (Matasellos) on Spanish Stamps, 51

Official Stamps (A Series of) for the United States, 93

Our Contemporaries, 17, 36, 52,78, 101, 129, 150, 171, 189

Our First Decade, 6

Our New Year's Greeting, 1

Papers for Beginners :— France, 2, 18; Germany, 33, 6-5 ;
Hamburg, 82 ; Greece, 113; Hanover, 145; Heligo-
land, 172; Holland, 173, 182; Hungary, 179; Ice-
land, 180 ; Ionian Islands, 180 ; Italy, 1*80

Peep into the Grey Book (A), 76

Pemberton's (Mr.) Forthcoming Catalogue, 177

Persian Stamps (The), 142

Philatelic Society (The), London, 46, 62, 80

Portraits (The) on the Current Argentine Stamps, 178

Postal Chit-chat, 47, 63, 95, 110, 128, 144, 159, 175

Postal Rates in Chili, 156

Printing Postage Stamps, On the Various Modes of, 164

Proposed French Official Stamps, 14

Rambles at Home and Abroad, 28, 44, 49

Reviews of Postal Publications, 47_, 143, 158

Russian Local Stamps, Introduction to the Study of,

97, 124
Semi-official Spanish Stamp (A), 93
Series (A) of Official Stamps for the United States, 93
Spanish Postal (or Philatelico-Legal) Chronology, 100,

161
Stamp Collecting in Chili, 135
Stamp Collecting in Gablonz, 55
Stamps of La Guaira (The), 70, 90
Stamps of Portugal (The), 109, 122, 133, 157
Stamps of Reunion Isle (The), 90
Straw (The) that shows which way the Wind blows, 31

Thirty-three Tears of First Issues, 167

Varieties of Type of the early Swiss Federal Stamps, 12

II.— COUNTRIES REFERRED TO.

The addition of an asterisk after a number signifies that there

an engraving on the page referred to.

Alaska, 138

Alexandria, 59 *

Alsace and Lorraine, 2,* 18 *

Antigua, 122

Antioquia, 155

Argentine Republic, 12, 86,* 122, 155, 178, 187 *

Athens (Georgia), 183

Austria, 4,* 39, 60, 115, 140, 144

Austrian Italy and Foreign Branch Offices, 115,* 141

Azores, 89

Barbados, 74, 89, 117*
Bavaria, 43, 61
Belgium, 11, 18, 25, 86,* 138
Bermuda, 87, 107 *
Bolivar, 168,* 185,* 191
Brazil, 119,* 131, 185
British Honduras, 11
Cabul, 188
California, 67, 162 *
Canada, 76, 155, 191

INDEX.

Carlist Postal Service, 57, 119, 136,* 155, 169

Cashmere, 11

Chili, 8,* 27, 60, 121, 128, 135, 140, 156, 160

Confederate States, 103, 182, 192

Cuba, 75,* 190

Curasao, 10, 24,* 156

Danish West Indies, 58, 152, 185 *

Danubian Steam Navigation Co., 131, 142*

Dutch West Indies, 10, 24 *

Ecuador, 9,* 48, 62, 104, 150, 170, 186

Fernando Po, 139, 189

Fiji Islands, 79. 89, 191

Finland, 122, 138, 144, 187

France, 2,* 5, 9, 14, 18,* 24, 39, 43, 53, 56, 76, 78, 95,

107, 110, 111, 144
Frankfort, 175*
French Colonies, 12
Geneva, 12

Germany, 27, 33,* 42,*58,65,*89,95, 107, 139,* 150, 187,189
Goliad (Texas), 103
Great Britain, 10,* 32, 36, 58, 63, 107, 121, 132, 156,

191, 192
Greece, 113*
Griqualand West, 188
Guatemala, 11,* 43,* 57,* 74, 189
Hamburg, 65,* 82.* 112, 150, 191
Hanover, 145,* 171

Heligoland, 108, 140, 152, 170, 172,* 186
Holland, 32, 173,* 182
Honduras, 101
Hungary, 117,* 142, 179*
Huntsville (Alabama), 59 *
Iceland, 7,* 60, 76, ISO *
Ionian Islands, 180*
Italy, 144,* 156, 180 *

Japan, 10,* 28, 32, 40,* 122, 139,* 159, 170,* 189
Jerusalem, French Post, 89,* 189
Knoxville (Tennessee), 183
La Guaira, 70,* 90, 112, 128
Livonia, 144
Luxemburg, 28, 60
Marion (Virginia), 182
Mauritius, 43 *
Mexico, 27, 55, 189
Montenegro, 121, 140,* 170
Natal, 55, 122, 188
New Brunswick, 152, 191
New Caledonia, 38
Newfoundland, 60, 85, 184
New Granada, 15, 47, 48, 76,* 87, 102, 106, 108, 155, 157,

168,* 185,* 191
New South Wales, 108, 144
New Zealand, 25,* 59, 74,* 89, 140
Nicaragua, 131. 186
North German Confederation, 65,* 150
Norway, 60, 108, 171
Pahlunpoor, 140, 152,* 172
Parma, 48, 151
Persia, 87, 142
Peru, 87,* 171

Philippines, 63, 89, 139, 155, 188
Pleasant Shade (Virginia), 183
Portugal, 109, 122,* 133,* 157, 171
Prince Edward Island, 18, 104, 155
Prussia, 132, 137 *
Queensland, 171
Reunion Isle, 90,* 191

Ringgold (Georgia), 182
Romagna, 16, 18

Roumania, 107, 118,* 171, 189, 191
Russian Locals : —

Aleksandria (or Aleksandrowsk), 9

Atkarsk, 153*

Berdiansk, 75

Biejetsk, 170*

Bogorodsk, 26,42, 58, 88

Charkoff, 153

Dmitrieff, 58

Ekaterinoslav, 26,* 120

Fatejh, 153

Kadnik'off, 26 *

Kosoletz, 40 *

Kotelnitsch, 41.* i53, 187

Kropeevna, 41 *

Livni, 88,* 106

Maloarchangelsk, 153, 170 *

Mariopol, 106,* 153, 170*

Nolinsk, 120 *

Novgorod, 153

Orguierf, 137, 153*

Perm, 88 *

Piratin, 119*

Podolsk, 75,* 106

Riasan, 106*

Rjeff, 9

Rostoff-on-Don, 42 *

Schatsk, 154 *

Sizran (or Syrvan), 75 ; 88

Tchern, 26,* 153

Tiraspol, 75 *

Toropetz, 137*

Toula, 187 *

Wassyel, 88 *

Weissiegonsk, 8,* 120,* 1 1 1

Werchnie-Dnieprorisk, 88,* 153 *

Woltschansk, 187 *
St. Helena, 189
St. Louis, 104
St. Lucia, 122,* 171

San Francisco City Delivery Posts, ii7, 162
Schaumbourg-Lippe, 139 :
Servia, 108, 122, 139,* 154 «
Shanghai, 76, 89, 131, 18S
Sierra Leone, 79, 186
South African Republic, 63, 1S9
Spam. 11. 31, 51,* 53, 57, 76, 79, 87,93,* 100, 107, 118,*

136,* 155, 158, 160, 161, 168, 186,* 191
Straits Settlements, 11,* 89
Surinam, 10, 24*
Sweden, 28

Switzerland, 12,* 39, 60,* SS, 151, 171, 187
Tasmania, 12, 32, 171
Thurn and Taxis, 33,* 95, ISO
Toliina, 76,* 87, 185 *
Transvaal, 63, 189
Turkey, 60, 81, 137
Turks' Islands, 171, 176
Tuscany, 52
United Stales of America, 17, 75, 79, 93, 95, 119,

154,* 159, 171. 188, 189; Post cards. 17. 7'.'. 119,*

184 ; Locals, 54, 59,* 67, 104, 191
United States of Colombia, 15, 47, 48, 76,* 87, L02, 106,

108, 155, 157, 168,* 185,* 191
Venezuela, 70.* 90, 112, 12S

Victoria, 28, 32, 76, 105,* 108, 141, lc4,* 170, l.ss
Wurtembuig, 28, 12

taiti-CoIIector'

ajrae.

OUR NEW YEAR'S GREETING.

After having appeared, in the same garb for
ten years, we have to day pnt on a new
dress. Our new dress, it is true, is of. the
same cut as the old one, but we modestly
venture to think it a little more attractive
than the latter. Thirty odd years after the
introduction of cheap postage, the outline of
its benefits, which Mulready sketched, may
appropriately be filled in, for the promise it
contained has been abundantly realised. We
trust our readers will think that the filling
in — rather an ambitious task by the way —
has not been unsuccessfully accomplished.
For our part we have to thank the engraver
for giving us a better conception of the
spirit of the design than we previously had.

In the subordinate parts of the frontispiece
due regard has been had to philatelical ap-
positeness. We need hardly refer to the
stamps from which our engraver has copied
the portraits that adorn the corner Squares ;
our readers will, we are persuaded, easily re-
cognise them without our aid. Perhaps,
however, it may not be amiss to mention that
the Etruscan border is copied from that on
the Italian newspaper stamps.

By giving a more ornamental character to
the wrapper, we have sought to signalise, in
some slight degree, an event which, to us at
any rate, is not without its importance,
namely, the entry of the Magazine on its

VOL. XI. No. 121.

second decade ; and the printer, to aid us hi
giving additional eclat to the present number,
has "set it up" from entirely new type,
which alone will in future be used.

From our ever- indulgent readers we solicit
the continuance of that kind and most neces-
sary support which they have hitherto
granted, assuring them at the same time that
they may rely on the united efforts of editor,
printer, and publishers, to render The Stamp-
Collector's Magazine emphatically the best of
its kind — the fullest and most trustworthy
source of information, and the most accept-
able medium of communication. Need we,
on the other hand, remind our friends how
welcome their contributions would at all times
be — how happy we should be to profit by,
and make public, the outgrowth of knowledge
which should result from that process of
marking, learning, and inwardly digesting,
which we feel convinced is going on in their
minds ?

From our contemporaries we believe we
can count upon a kindly word of encourage-
ment, which we, on our side, cordially re-
ciprocate, having firm faith in the advantage
of a common understanding for the common
good.

Finally, we trust that the popularity of
Philately — a pursuit which in its beneficial
results can hardly be surpassed — will con-
tinue to increase, and to all our readers we
wish A Happy New Year.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

PAPERS FOR BEGINNERS.— No. XXIV.

BY OVERY TAYLOR.

EUROPE.

Jfranxe,

The last imperial stamp — the one centime —
appeared in the month of May, 1870. On
the 15th of July following war was virtually
declared between France and Germany. In
the course of August the

took

Germans tools: possession
Alsace and Lorraine, and the
stamps issued primarily for
the service of those provinces
form the earliest philatelic
souvenirs of the great contest.
On the 19th September Paris
was completely invested. A month later the
engraved Republican stamps (perforated
reprints of the 1849 series) made their ap-
pearance in the besieged capital. In the
same month Gambetta and his co-delegates
established themselves at Tours, and in
December they removed to Bordeaux, where
was issued the lithographed series of repub-
lican stamps. After the conclusion of peace,
other values of the 1849 type (engraved)
were emitted by the head office at Paris.

For the sake of convenience let us examine
the Bordeaux series first. Its emission was
necessitated by the aim >st
entire exhaustion of the
stock of imperial stamps
(fifteen millions in all),
which M. Vandal, the last
postmaster-general of the
empire, had caused to be
distributed among the pro-
vincial offices immediately
after the outbreak of the war. The matter
was one of extreme urgence. The dies
of the 1849 type were shut up in Paris,
and nothing remained but to issue some
make-shift design in the most expeditious
manner possible. To engrave a matrix
would have been a work of months, and
lithography was the only process which
could be relied on for the prompt production
of the much needed supplies" No doubt, to
the pressure of time m ty also be ascribed the
resolution simply to copy the existing designs,

:REPUB' FRANC^l

CpostesC-J

— there was really no time for Hie preparation
and submission < f drawings of now types, and
the immediate adoption of the old ones was
a safe course.

The order to prepare the series was given
by the postmaster-general in partibus, M.
Steenackers; and the director of the Bordeaux
mint only ten days after the matter was first
proposed to him was able to announce tho
everything was ready; in that short time
he had set up an atelier capable of turning
out 1,200,000 stamps per day, or, in other
words, 8,000 sheets of 150 stamps, of all
colours and prices. That the work should
have been somewhat roughly done is not,
under the circumstances, surprising, and it
will be admitted that some of the values are
by no means without merit as lithographic
productions. Considerable variations are no-
ticeable in the colours of nearly every value,
and they are due only to accident ; but as the
almost natural accompaniments of a hasty
emission, they illustrate, in a subordinate
manner, the circumstances under which the
series was prepared, and are, therefore, worthy
of a certain amount of attention, even from be-
ginners. I would not pretend to lay down
any rule as to the number of shades to be
collected, but would merely rec unmend that
those which show the greatest divergence be
taken in preference.

The series is composed of the following
values : —

I.AKGE FIGURES IN ANGLES.

1 centime, olive-green.

2 ,, red -brown.

4 ,, grey.

COPY OF THE 1819 TYPE.

5 centimes, chrome-green.

10 ,, yellow-ochre, cinnam >n, bistre.

20 ,, blue, light to dark, ultramarine.

30 ,, chocolate.

40 „ light orange to vermilion.

80 ,, rose, carmine.

Each value being separately drawn, it follows
that there are as many types as there are
values, and the 20 c, having been drawn
again and again, exists in no1 less than three
types. The iirst type I incline to think was
issued alone before the others; the sec md
and third — or. adopting the results of Dr.
Magnus's analysis, the second, third, and
fourth — I believe to have been issued simul-
taneously. My argumeni is. that the 20 c,

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

being the value the most needed, was the first
printed, a supply of the very defective first
type being despatched to such post-offices as
were quite out of stamps, pending the com-
pletion of the more carefully drawn second
and third types.*

The first type is easily recognisable ; in
fact, it is impossible to confound it with even
the roughly printed copies of the subsequent
types. The impression is exceedingly coarse
and blurred, and the space between the ring
which surrounds the profile and the marginal
border at the top of the stamp measures
nearly one-sixteenth of an inch, whilst, in the
other types there is scarcely any space at all.
The colour is a thick Prussian blue. This
type was certainly in use for only a very
short time, and specimens are at present by
no means easily to be had.

As to the other types, I will not venture on
giving any detailed description of my own.
" A Parisian Collector " gives, as the most
perceptible difference between his second and
third types, that the latter has four Etruscan
frets in the border of the left upper side, and
the former four Etruscan frets, and the com-
mencement of a fifth. Dr. Magnus gives a
second, third, and fourth type ; but which is
the second and which the third I must con-
fess myself, after several hours' examination
of scores of specimens, unable to determine.
The differences between the two are so fine,
and, therefore, very difficult accurately to de-
scribe ; whilst, on the other hand, owing to
the imperfection and irregularity of the
printing, the stamps vary so much among
themselves that the eye gets distracted and
deceived — at any rate, mine did. Moreover,
Dr. Magnus h:mself hardly claims more for
his third type than that it is the result
of a retouching of the second ; we may,
therefore, consider them as forming to-
gether only one in reality. His fourth type
is distinguished from the preceding by the
manifest increase in the height and thickness
of the lettering. It appears to answer to "A
Parisian Collector's " second type ; and his
classification, though I cannot entirely re-
concile it with Dr. Magnus's, seems to be the

* This is also the opinion of "A Parisian Collector." See
The Fhilatclical Journal, p. 46.

best, unless, indeed, we register them roughly
as second type, small letters ; third type,
large letters.

Perhaps in even discussing these differ-
ences I am taking my readers somewhat
out of their depth, but it seems to me that
whilst beginners may safely postpone the
study of varieties of perforation, paper, &c,
a knowledge of the types, in other words the
designs of stamps, is indispensable. It does
not follow thence that the acqiiisition of
closely similar types, such as those just re-
ferred to, is necessary ; and with regard to
them in particular I think that a specimen of
the first type, and one of either of the others,
would amply suffice for all illustrative pur-
poses.

Looking at the design in its entirety, its
comparative roughness is in itself sufficient
to distinguish it at a glance from the en-
graved type of 1849, and not the veriest tyro
need fall into error on this point. The two
series are, it is true, both imperforated, but
here the resemblance ends. With regard to
perforation, it may be well to state, that al-
though the lithographed stamps were officially
issued unperf orated, the postmasters of some
of the provincial offices caused the supplies
which they received to be line-pierced, or
rouletted, by handworked apparatus in their
possession. I believe that not a few private
firms also rouletted their stamps for con-
venience' sake; but these chance perforations,
though specimens exemplifying them may be
worth preserving as curiosities, if one happens
to come across them, certainly do not consti-
tute legitimate varieties.

The series as a whole forms an interesting
commentary on the fortunes of France during
the war. Its currency ceased shortly after
the conclusion of peace, and during the
greater part of the time that it was in cir-
culation it could only be employed in two-
thirds of France, the remaining third being
occupied by the enemy. In consequence of
the hostile occupation the postal service
became unsettled, and the lithographed
stamps franked letters by many an unaccus-
tomed route.

Turning now to the Parisian reissue of the
1849 type : the three values emitted during
the siege were the 10 c. bistre, 20 c. blue,

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

and 40 c. orange. The first two made their
appearance on the 11th October, 1870, and the
49 c. in the middle of the following December.
Their emission, we are informed, was resolved
on to satisfy the clamonrons reclamations
of the pent- lip republicans, who were dis-
satisfied at the maintenance in circulation of
the imperial stamps ; probably, though many
issnes have sprung from political change,
this is the only one that owes its existence
to a popular manifestation against the
political significance of a preceding type.

Following these three stamps came, on the
1st September, 1871, two others, also reissues
of the 1849 type, namely, the 15 c. bistre
and 25 c. blue. These latter were the results
of a law voted a few weeks previously, by
which, in order to render the post-office
more profitable, the postal rates were raised;
and, together with the 40 c. of 1870, they
are still in use, though probably, should
practical counsels prevail in the French
parliament, the old rates will ere long be
reinstated.

The five reissued stamps — 10 c, 15 c, 20 c,
25 c, and 40 c, — although their designs are
necessarily identical with the originals of the
1849 type, since they are printed from the
same dies, are easily recognisable from the
fact that they are perforated, whilst the
1849 stamps were not. Besides this there are
certain differences in the colour, as also in
the tint and texture of the paper, which are
easily perceptible on comparing originals
and reprints together. No essential differ-
ence distinguishes the stamps used during
the siege from those issued afterwards, but
many people preserve intact the covers of
letters sent out of the capital by balloon post,
and prepaid by stamps. In this context it
may be as well to mention that the reissue
of the 1849 type under the circumstances
above mentioned did not lead to the sup-
pression of the imperial stamps ; they con-
tinued in use both during and long after the
siege.

Recently a new series has commenced to
make its appearance, of which the low
values (2 c, 4 c, 5 a), following the lead of
the Bordeaux lithographs, have the engraved
profile of the republic, as on the old stamps,
set in the frame of the imperial 2 c. and 1 c. ;

whilst the higher denominations (30 c. and
sir.) resemble the original L849 type, bu1
have the figures of value in the lowermargin
enlarged, complaint having been made thai
in the old design these Bgaires were nut
sufficiently clear. To these stamps it is not
necessary to make more detailed reference,
as every reader must be well acquainted
with them.

NOTES FOR COLLECTORS.— IV.

BY A PARISIAN COLLECTOR.

Austria.

(Continued from Vol. X., page 174.)
FOURTH GENERAL SERIES.

On the 1st July, 1863, the series with the
profile of the Emperor in an oval was super-
seded by one bearing the
double-headed eagle of Aus-
tria, and the colours of the
various values were render-
ed more in harmony with
those which had then lately
been adopted almost gene-
rally throughout Germany.
A series of envelopes was
also issued of similar design to the stamps.

There are two distinct issues of stamps in
this series ; one — perforated 14, like the pre-
ceding series-c-was in use for little more
than a year, when it gave place to the other,
perforated 9h The entire series is mi
ordinary white wove paper.

Of the envelopes there are three well-de-
fined issues, all of the ordinary si/A1: —

1st. A series on ordinary plain white wove
paper, surfaced, with flaps similar in shape
to those of the series of 1861.

2nd. A series on similar paper, 'with flaps
similar in shape to those of the reprints of
the series for 1861.

3rd. A series on white wove paper, with
flaps similar in shape to those last mentioned,
with letters in watermark of the same size
as those found in the reprints of the series
for 1861.
Classification,

I. — General series of stamps.

1. Earlier issue, perforated 11.
'1 kreuzer, Naples yellow (shades).

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

3 kreuzer, sea-green.

5 ,, rose (shades).

10 ,, Prussian blue (shades).

15 ,, light reddish brown.

2. Later issue, perforated 9|.

2 kreuzer, Naples yellow to orange- yellow.

3 ,, sea-green, yellow-green (shades).
5 ,, pale and dark rose.

10 ,, Prussian blue and light ditto.

15 ,, reddish brown and light ditto.

II. — Journal stamp, imper-
forate.

[1 kreuzer], dull lilac, grey lilac
(shades) .

III. — Envelopes.

1. Envelopes with flaps similar to ^jS!

series of 1861. . N

3 kreuzer, yellow-green (shades).

5 ,, rose and deep ditto.

10 ,, Prussian blue and light ditto.

15 ,, light umber-brown, reddish brown.

25 ,, violet (shades).

2. Envelopes with flaps similar in shape to those

of the l'eprints of the series for 1861.

3 kreuzer, green, yellow-green (shades).

5 ,, rose (shades).

10 ,, Prussian blue.

^o ,, umber-brown (shades).

25 ,, violet (shades).

3. Envelopes with flaps similar to the last, but with

letters of urief couverts in watermark, as in
the reprints of the series for 1861.
3 kreuzer, light green.
5 ,, rose (shades).

10 ,, Prussian blue.

15 ,, light umber-brown.

25 ,, violet.

FIFTH GENERAL SERIES.

This series, issued on the 1st of June, 1867,
at Pesth, on the coronation of the Emperor

as King of Hungary, is now in use, and
already offers some varieties in shades. In
some late impressions of the 5 kr., 10 kr.,
and 15 kr., the ground is no longer plain, but
chequered, similarly to the later impressions
of the 30 centimes French, laureatcd head of

the Emperor.* The series is perforated 9|,
and is printed on ordinary wove paper. The
gum is thin. The values are the same as in
the preceding series, with the addition of two
higher values — 25 kr. and 50 kr.

For the journal stamp of this series the
original design of a head of
Mercury was reverted to ;
but the messenger of the
gods seems to have grown
very grim in the short space
of nine years, and to have ex-
changed his winged helmet
for something very like an
iron pot.

A series of envelopes was also issued at
the same time. This series is in two sizes,
both of the same width, but the one (A)
measures 5f inches long, while the other (B)
measures 6/e- inches long.

Of the size A there are two varieties,
depending, as in the preceding series, on the
shape of the side flaps; but in both varieties
of shape we find letters, part of the words
brief-codverts, in watermark. In the variety
with flaps similar in shape to the first variety
of the former series, the whole of the values
are found ; it is probable also that the whole
exist of the same shape as varieties 2 and
3, though we have only met with the 3 kr.
and 5 kr.

In the size B the paper is not the same
as that employed for the manufacture of size
A, except in some copies of the 10 kr. and
15 kr. The letters of the watermark, brief-
COuverts, are farther apart, and shorter and

* In the last number of this magazine, Mr. Overy
Taylor, in his paper on the stamps of France (p. 190), states
that he thinks it an error to class this difference in the
grounds of the 30 e. as a variety. He believes that the
lined ground always existed, and that it has become visible
from some change in the mode of impression, or from a
deterioration of the die. In the last number of Le Tintbrc-
roste, a 4 c. of the same issue is mentioned as having been
found with a ground of vertical lines. Mr. Taylor is such
a careful philatelist, that when we differ from him we do
so with the greatest diffidence, but we think that the
cause can scarcely be traced to the deterioration of the
die. The wear of the die would scarcely bring out points
which were obscure when it was in its first freshness.
Thai the ehangc is due to some alteration in the mode of
impression is not improbable, though we think it is equally
within the bounds of probability that it results from an
alteration of the die, made for the purpose of better re-
taining the culour, and perhapseconomising.it also; but
in either case it seems to us to mark a point in the stamp's
history, and, if so, is worthy of collection as a variety.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

broader, than in the paper of size A, and
most frequently run across the face of the
envelopes, instead of being on the flap.
Classification.

I. — General series of stamps, perf. 9|.

1. Plain ground.

2 kreuzer, bright yellow to orange-yellow.

3 „ dull yellowish green (shades).

5 ,, dull rose, madder-carmine (shades).

10 ,, Prussian lilue to light ditto.

15 ,, umber-brown (shades).

25 ,, dullviolet (shades), violet, brown-violet.

50 ,, llesh colour and salmon.

2. Chequered ground.

2 kreuzer ?

3 ,, red-madder.
10 ,, Prussian blue.

15 ,, light umber-brown.

II. — Journal stamp, imperforate.

[I kreuzer] dull lilac, dark ditto, bright ditto.

III. — Envelopes.

1. Size A. Paper with watermark similar to that

employed for the reprints of the series
for 1861.
(a). Envelopes with flap similar in shape to those

of series for 18G1.
3 kreuzer, green (shades).
5 ,, carmine, madder-carmine (shades).

10 ,, Prussian blue (shades).

15 ,, umber-brown (shades).

25 ,, dull violet (shades),

(i). Envelopes with flaps similar in shape to those

of the reprints of series for 1861.
3 kreuzer, light green.
5 ,, madder-carmine (shades).

Other values ?

2. Size P.

(a). Paper same as for size A.
10 kreuzer, bright Prussian blue.
15 ,, umber-brown (shades).

{b). Paper with letters of watermark farther apart.

3 kreuzer, green (shades) yellow-green (shades).

5 ,, madder-carmine, and light dull ditto.

10 ,, Prussian blue, bright ditto.

15 ,, yellow-brown.

25 ,, ilark violet.

In the year 1870 some of the remainder of
the stock of envelopes of 18G3 were utilized
by affixing to them a stamp of 5 kreuzer of
the existing series. These can offer no in-
terest to collectors, as the adhesive stamps,
after being affixed, received no further stamp
or mark, like that employed by the North
German Postal Confederation, but were pro-
bably affixed by the postal authorities ; and,
as Dr. Magnus well observes, this could
be done o'n the envelopes of any series by the
premier venu.

OUR FIRST DECADE.

BY FKXTONIA.

Being one of those who have taken in tins
magazine continuously from its commence-
ment to the present time — whose name, when
only an infant collector, appeared in its firsl
volume, and who has been an occasional con-
tributor to its pages ever since — I: claim to
be somewhat of a veteran in the service of
philately, and thei'efore feel an especial plea-
sure in congratulating the editor and pro-
prietors of The S tamp- Collector s Magazine in
particular, and philatelists in general, on its
completing the first decade of its annual
issue, having doubled the number of its
pages, and infinitely more than doubled its
readers, during that period.

Of the many changes that have been
effected in the method of arranging and de-
scribing postage stamps, various opinions
have inevitably been formed ; but allowing
the widest possible margin for grumblers,
cavillers, innovators, ei hoc genus omne, our
decade has, nevertheless, been undeniably
a continued course of progress and improve-
ment, amounting to almost moral certainty,
in all philatelic matters.

Perhaps no branch of philately has met
with more determined opposition from
thoughtful and sensible collectors than the
minuter subjects of study, such as water-
marks and varieties of paper and perforation.
Continental collectors admitted, and were
guided by, these distinctions long before "more
matter-of-fact Britons were convinced of
their utility. I believe I was the firsl to dub
the contending parties with the title of the
French and English schools of philately,
which distinctive appellations have ever
since been appropriated to them. I very
much doubt whether there still remains even
one tough old Tory of the genuine old Eng-
lish school who has not, by force of argu-
ment or his own common sense, become, as
it were, more or less, a Liberal-Conserva-
tive, although he may not have given his
unqualified adhesion to the minuter require-
ments of the French school.

One of the most original and. to my mind,
most illogical efforts of the French school
was the plan propounded not very long since

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

by the eminent Dr. Magnus, to adopt the
heraldic words " sinister " and "dexter" in
describing a postage stamp. I have not his
ingenious article on the subject at hand, nor
would there be space in the present number
to discuss his crotchet fully ; but it is too
important (as indeed are all his suggestions)
to be passed over in silence. To maintain
my position I must revert to the origin of
heraldry. I need not go back as far as
Morgan does in his Sphere of Gentry, who
states that Joseph's coat of many colours
was the first heraldic coat (it strikes me a
patchwork quilt of ancient date would be of
equal authority) ; but from the twelfth to
the fifteenth centuries, when the laws of
heraldry were pretty well established, will
amply suffice for my purpose. The helmeted
warriors of those days bore on their metal
shields (hence to this day called bearings')
certain grotesque or strongly-marked de-
vices, which, in course of time, represented
certain families, indicating who they were — if
gentry, — or whom they served — if tenantry or
serfs, — in the day of battle. Of course, to him
who bore the shield, that which we now in
heraldry call the " sinister " was on his left
hand, and that which we now call the " dex-
ter " was on his right hand. And who so
great a right as him who bore it to call it
" dexter " and " sinister," as it appeared to
him, instead of the reverse, as it would ap-
pear to whoever looked at it on approaching
him ? But does this theory apply to a post-
age stamp, even if it bears an heraldic de-
vice ? Certainly not. Whoever saw a living
being strutting behind a postage stamp ? —
unless, indeed, it be the possibly traditional
savage, who appropriated a lot of English
stamps, and stuck them all over his un-
clothed body. I maintain, therefore, that
Dr. Magnus's proposition is untenable ; it has
never been accepted in England, and, as far
as I know, has gamed little favour on the
Continent.

Since the commencement of our decade a
number of claimants have cropped up, such
as fiscals, private stamps, and last, though
not least, telegraph stamps. " What ought
we to collect?" and "What is a postage
stamp ? " are still moot points. In my
opinion fiscals are inadmissible, because they

free no letter. Private labels are equally so,
inasmuch as a certain amount of postage has
to be paid to make them valid [?]. Telegraph
stamps can, however, take a more decided
position, and make some claim to our no-
tice. They do free an unwritten letter
through the post-office ; and yet not alto-
gether unwritten either, for the sender writes
down what he has to say, and the recipient
gets the message written. I think, therefore,
telegraph stamps are, in some degree, legiti-
mate postage stamps, and, consequently, may
be collected by the most exclusive and fas-
tidious ; thotigh, being still the juveniles of
our acquaintance, we do not yet take quite
kindly to them.

In conclusion, humility demands we should
confess that stamp-collecting started in life
without a name. Presently Tlmbrology was
introduced; then Timbropliilij. In process
of time the two were united ; both died a
natural death, and left a hopeful offspring
under the more classical name of philately,
to whom every sincere collector must ear-
nestly wish a long and prosperous life,

NEWLY-ISSUED OR nSTEDITED
STAMPS.

We cannot better commence this the first
chronicle of a New Year, than by a notice of
a set of stamps which enters on circulation
to-day in. a very out-of-the-way part of the
world ; we refer to the emission for

Iceland. — Hitherto, as we imagine, the
Danish stamps have done duty there, but
the postal service of the island being carried
on quite independently of ^^,^^-^j^^^
that of the mother-country,
it is not surprising that it
should be endowed with a
series of stamps for its
own special use. We can-
not help regretting that no
distinctive device has been
chosen for them ; in point of fact they have
nothing Icelandish or outlandish about them.
They are simply the Danish stamps, with the
necessary change of insci-iption, accompanied
by certain alterations in the details. Still,
we fear the day is far distant when postal
departments will submit the designs for

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

stamps which they purpose issuing to a
board of philatelists; so we must ivsi satis-
fied with the fact that a new series, interest-
ing from the remoteness of its plaee of service,
has appeared, and content ourselves with
chronicling its values, which are as follows : —

2 skilling blue.

4 „ rose.

8 ,, brown.

16 „ yellow.

Chili. — The Chilian envelopes are at length
a fait accompli ; and to our Brighton con-
temporary we are in-
debted for engravings of
the four higher values,
which, together with that
of the lowest, we here re-
produce. These are all
stamps emphatically of
the first order, of which
mere wood-cuts can give
but a very inadequate
idea at best. The designs are highly finished,
the cameo heads being most effective, and
the colours at once bright, delicate, and well
chosen. That they are De La Rue's pro-
duction is evidenced by the family resem-
blance they bear to the Cingalese envelopes,
although the combinations of shape ai'e
new. If they have a fault, it is that the
values are not sufficiently visible, being in
sunken letters of the same size as the in-
scription by which they are preceded. The
bust of Columbus is maintained in its place
of honour, in preference to that of any
modern celebrity ; and now that the profile is
admitted to be that of the great discoverer,
we may award a meed of praise to the only
American country which has held him in
remembrance.

Besides these, there are two official stamps,
which differ from the preceding in colour

and inscription only ; their values are : —

4 skilling

green,
mauve.

On comparison with the Danish stamp, it
will be observed that the new arrivals have
the figure of value larger, and that the frame-
work is of a different pattern.

The colours of this elegant series, let us
repeat for reference, are as follows.
2 (dos) centavos brown.

5 (cinco) ., purple.

10 (diez) „ blue.

15 (quince) „ pink.

20 (veinte) ,, bronze-green.

Supplies of the two lowest values have, we
learn, arrived at Valparaiso, but are not yet
on sale.

Of the post card we have no further in-
telligence, but assume that it is mnv in
circulation.

Russian Locals. — These form a regular
item in our monthly bill of fare. The latest
arrivals hail from

Weissieyonsk (or AVisscp'onsk), Tver Gov-
ernment. Their origin is evidenced by the
queer emblem in the upper
section df the shield— a crowu
on stool — which is the same
as that on the Tver stamps.
As to the thing represented
in the lower section, we can
but support a contemporary's
Suggestion thai it is intended
for a lobster ! We have gone
all round it without getting any better notion
of its significance, and. after all. it may be that
Weissieg-onsk is as famous for its crustaceous

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

as Belozersk for its finny staple. The design
is lithographed on white wove paper in the
following colours : —

| kop. red-brown.

1 ,, green.

2 „ bine.

5 ,, carmine-rose.

These stamps are imperforated. There are
sixty stamps to each sheet of the I kop., 2
kop., and 5 kop., and twenty-eight of the 1
kop. The date of emission is unknown ; but
the I kop. is the only Russian local of that
value, and as low-value stamps are generally
among the last issued, we argue that the above
series has only just made its appearance.

Alehsandroivsk (Ekaterinoslav), Alelisan-
dria (Cherson). — The stamp described last
month as belonging to the former, is now
found to have been issued, in reality, for the
latter district.

Bjeff. — The type represented last month
is stated to be, as we had supposed it. an
official seal, used to close letters, packets, &c,
much in the same way as the Egyptian
officials are employed.

Ecuador. — The annexed engravings are
those of three new types said to have been
issued for this country,
but of which the authen-
ticity appears very doubt-
ful. The one real was de-
scribed a short time since
in the Gazette des Timbres,
accompanied by an almost
undecipherable engraving.
The half real and one peso
arrived only a month ago. It will be no-
ticed that the two latter are in the main

•.vwwJvxw.

points identical in design, whilst the 1 real
is of a type apart, copied in its general ar-
rangements from that of the Costa Rican
stamps. Now, it strikes us as very odd

that such a distinction should exist in re-
spect of the one real. It frequently happens
that the highest value of a series is of a
different design from the rest, but it is very
rare for two consecutive inferior values to be
of separate types (unless they are members
of a series of which no two stamps are
alike in design) ; and it is still rarer for
the highest and lowest vakies to share be-
tween them a type which is not that of the
intermediate denominations. Perhaps, on
the other hand, this very lack of plausibility
in the distribution of the designs is an argu-
ment in favour of the genuineness of the
stamps : time wdl show. Meanwhile, we
place on record the doubts with which they
inspire both ourselves and our contempo-
raries, and close our notice of them by a
list of their colours : —

ij real blue ~) , . ,

4 ( on white paper,

1 „ orange ?■ -en

-, " °. \ pert. 11.

1 peso carmme-rose ; r

Prance. — We mentioned last month that
M. Wolowski was about to reproduce his
proposition with regard to the issue of post
cards for France, and are glad to be able to
announce that his amendment has been ac-
cepted by the finance minister. It reads as
follows : " The department shall be allowed
to manufacture postal cards, destined to pass
through the post unenclosed. They shall be
put on sale at the price of ten centimes for
those posted and distributed within the cir-
cumspection of one and the same office, as
also for those posted in Paris for Paris,
within the fortification ; and at the price of
fifteen centimes for those circulating in France
and Algeria, between one office and another."
The boon is not an extravagant one ; in
England we should not think much of the
privilege of sending a post card through the
post for three-halfpence ; but the peculiar
circumstances of our neighbours, and their
indisposition to accept radical reforms, must
be taken into account in passing judginent
on the modest proposal of the most enlight-
ened French advocate of postal progress.

At the moment of going to press we learn
that the above amendment passed the French
National Assembly on the 19th ult., but not
until after a lengthy discussion on its merits,
in which M. Wolowski and the postmaster-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

'JUUUUU lArvn PJIAJW-T

general, in its favour, and a M. Cailloux,
against its adoption, took part. The first
portion of the amendment — that which re-
lates to post cards — was only adopted after
two successive divisions par assis et leve, the
first proving indecisive.

Japan. — This country promises to be a
prolific source of new issues. The annexed
type, first described by the
^v^rv^r^jgrw^v^ Belgian -journal, was is-
e rrel'J v* yMa i sued at Hiogo in Septem-
ber, and supersedes the
blue one tenpo. The in-
scriptions in Roman let-
ters, top and bottom, con-
clusively settle the question
of the orthography of the
denomination of value,
which must henceforth be written sen. The
sign ( — ) on either side indicates the value ;
the hieroglyphics lower down are the same
as those on the first series ; not so the central
inscription, which remains to be deciphered.
The branches which frame it in are the em-
blems of the Mikado, — chrysanthemum and
"paulownia," — and above is the sun; the
imperial dragons have disappeared. There
are forty stamps in a sheet, and each one
having been separately engraved, there are
as many varieties as stamps. The impression
is in blue, on yellowish white wove paper ;
perforated 10 and 11, the perforating needles
having been placed at irregular distances.
Two shades are already distinguished, viz.,
blue and dark blue.

Great Britain. — It would seem that the
impressed stamp on post cards has been con-
demned, and that an em-
bossed oval stamp has been
adopted as its successor.
Our publishers have received
from a correspondent a spe-
cimen of this novelty, and
the annexed engraving re-
presents it correctly. It con-
sists of a cameo head of the Queen on a solid
disk, inscribed halfpenny in an arch above,
and postage in a curve below, the profile ; a
narrow white rim completes the design,
which is, as usual, embossed in the right up-
per corner. The card we have seen was a
plain white one, used by a private firm, and the

stamp was impressed in a pink of the same
shade as that of the penny envelope. We
should imagine the embossed stamp would
be found inconvenient, as it would trench
considerably on the space on the other side,
reserved for the communication.

Since writing the foregoing, we learn that
this embossed design is reserved for can Is
specially stamped at Somerset House, in exe-
cution of private orders, and will not supersede
the existing design for cards sold over the
post-office counter. By the creation of a
special type for private post cards, the nunil h sr
issued, and consequently the extent to which
the concession is appreciated by the public,
can easily be ascertained.

Dutch West Indian Possessions. — The
forthcoming emission for these colonies turns
out to be composed of two series, instead of
one. The values are the same in each, as
are also the leading features of the design,
but the colours differ. Taking them in de-
tail, let us first notice the issue for

Dutch Guiana (or Surinam). — The design
consists of the profile of king to left, in
pearled circle ; name — SUEINAME — above, but
in white letters, on coloured ground ; value
below, on a straight label, intersected imme-
diately under the portrait by a small shield,
bearing the Dutch arms ; rosettes in the
angles ; values : —

cents

carmine

green.
violet.

grey,
blue.

orange.

It will not be forgotten that Dutch Guiana
was the reputed home of one of the rarest of
known essays — the 5 c, figured on p. 119
of Dr. Gray's catalogue, 5th edition — whose
history has never yet been ascertained.

Curctfioa. — Design: profile of king to left
in pearled circle ; name — CURACAO — above in
curved label, following the circle; below, a
curved label, inscribed cent on either side.
and intersected in the centre by an oval,
bearing the figure of value on a lined ground;
angles of the inner frame truncated, and
filled with a small ornament ; ground of dote
outside the Circle; values: —

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

2h cent

green.

3 „

grey.

5 „

carmine

10 „

bine.

25 „

orange.

50 „

violet.

From the foregoing it will be seen tliat,
whilst preserving a certain general re-
semblance to the home stamps, the colonial
emissions possess well-marked peculiarities
of their own.

Guatemala. — We are now in a position to
give a correct engraving of the new type,
which bears ont, in its
principal features, the de-
scription we gave last
month from an obliterated
copy. Some of the em-
blems are by no means
clear, and especially that
which surmounts the scroll.
Mr. Pernberton, in the last
number of his journal, expresses grave doubts
of the authenticity of this type, reminding us
that it has the same number of perforations
(12) as the Guatemala swindle 5 c. brown
(ship in bay), and he argues that the simul-
taneous appearance of these two new values,
and the three Ecuador varieties referred to
in another column, is in itself suspicious.
Bearing in mind that we have had nothing
new from the Boston gang for a long time
past, we are inclined to share his doubts, and
place these Guatemalas in the list of "sus-
pects," until such time as conclusive evidence
shall be forthcoming of their real worth.

Cashmere. — Our Birmingham contempo-
rary chronicles the following new colours of
the rectangular series: —

6 pies ultramarine.

1 anna brownish yellow.

1 ,, rich yellow.

2 ,, lemon.

These varieties were received from the city
of Travancore, and Mr. Pernberton inclines
to the belief that the different cities print
their own stamps, and are not very particular
as to shade or impression. The colours of
the 1 anna and 2 annas are perfectly distinct
from any ever received in England.

Straits Settlements. — The promised

thirty cents has made its appearance, and
turns out to be modelled
very closely on the English
sixpenny brown, though the
narrowness of the inscribed
frame seems to us to detract
somewhat from the general K
effect. We give the en-
graving without having seen
the original, of which we ignore the colour,
an important particular which The Philatelist
does not give.

Belgium. — Reply-paid cards are to be is-
sued this JSTew Year's Day. The first half of
the card has the word carte-correspondance
at the top, below it the Belgian arms, and
beneath that again the inscription eeponsb
payee ANTWOORD betaald ; in the right upper
corner, the 5 c. stamp. The second half, in-
stead of " reponse payee," is inscribed re-
ponse antwoord ; in all other respects it is a
copy of its companion.

The Belgian Moniteur of the 27th ult.,
contains a decree ordering the creation of
envelopes for that country, to be sold to the
public at the price of one centime beyond
the value of the stamp. This is followed
by a notice from the minister that envelopes
of the value of 10 centimes will be issued on
the 1st of May next.

Spain. — In confirmation of a brief notice
given in our November number we are able to
state, on theauthority of theRevista cle Correos,
that the following changes are to take place
on this first of January. The existing 5 c.
green (figure of value), 6 c. bright blue, 10 c.
dull lilac, and 12 c. lilac are withdrawn ; the
6 c. and 12 c. values are definitely suppressed ;
a new 5 c. stamp is issued with bust of king,
colour rose ; and the 10 c. is reissued in the
colour of the abandoned 6 c. bright blue.

British Honduras. — The accuracy of the
report of the issue of a threepenny stamp is
proved by the arrival of the stamp itself. It
is very handsome ; of precisely the same
design as the four previously issued values ;
but the buckle of the encircling garter is
more to the left than even in the sixpenny.
It is printed a delicate f awn-brown, approach-
ing closely to that of the Western Australian
threepence ; perf . 14, and watermarked CG.
and crown.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Egypt. — The same authority notices that
the recently received supplies of the current
series are more clearly printed, except the
2 piastres, which is on a thinner paper, of an
apparently greasy nature, giving worse im-
pressions than ever.

French Colonies. — To the number of
imperforated French republic stamps, doing
duty pro tern, in the colonies, must be added
the current 5 c, 15 c, and 25 c, which were
issued on 1st October last.

Argentine Republic. — The values of the
two expected stamps are said to be j centavo
and 1 centavo; and the colours are. respec-
tively, lilac and green.

Tasmania. — A five-shilling stamp of the
new type has just made its appearance, with
oblique watermark — TAS ; colour, bright red-
violet, verging on magenta.

ON THE VARIETIES OF TYPE OF THE
EARLY SWISS FEDERAL STAMPS.

BY A PARISIAN COLLECTOR.

A great deal has been written about the
cantonal stamps of Switzerland, and abund-
ant formulae have been given for testing the
gemuneness of the Geneva, Basle, and Zurich
stamps, while but comparatively little at-
tention has been bestowed on the early issues
of the Federal stamps. The discovery of a
very suspicious-looking copy of the 15 cents
Rayon III. in my own collection induced me
to make an investigation into these early
issues, with a view of ascertaining how many
types there really were, so that by looking
one of them in the face I might be able to
detect if he were of the true blood ; or
whether, in addition to the white cross on his
escutcheon, he had also a bar sinister across it.
The results of this investigation, which was
at the best incomplete, were communicated
to Le Timbre-Poste in November, 1871. The
hiatus then left has been since supplied in
a communication from M. Schulze, which
appeared in that journal for October last,
giving authentic details obtained from the
printer of the stamps in question. From
this communication, and from two articles
which appeared also in Le Timbre-Poste,
in the year 1868, I am enabled to string

together some reliable iid'ormation, the truth
of which my readers can verity fur them-
selves, iis I have d me.

Before examining the question of types, it
may be well to offer a lew observations on
the probable dates of issue of these early
stamps. The use of postage stamps in some
of the Swiss cantons dates from the year
1843 — a very early epoch in the history of
postage stamps — but the intricacies of the
monetary system in Switzerland prior to
1850 were an obstacle to the use of stamps
for prepaying postage beyond the limits of
the canton in which they were employed, or
beyond its limits and that of any neighbour-
ing one having a similar currency.

The Geneva double stamp came into use
most probably in the early part of 1844, as a
specimen is mentioned as bearing the post-
mark of the 10th March, 1844, and, with the
larger stamp of 5 centimes, continued in use
up to the close of L849. We here find, for
the first time, postmarked specimens of two
stamps of the values of 4 and 5 centimes,
with a white cross as the principal feature.
These stamps have been
usually called the " Valid "
stamps, but though all
authorities agree as to their
having been used at Lau-
sanne, yet it seems perfectly
clear that their use was not confined to
the canton of Vaud, but extended also
to Geneva; for the obliterating marks then
in use in Geneva are found' on these
stamps. They seem, from their design,
to be of a more generic character than the
local stamps of Geneva, Basle, and Zurich,
and may be looked upon as the forerunners
of a general issue of stamps. In April. L850,
two stamps were issued, both of the value of
2^ rappen, for local p >stage, one having the
inscription in French — POSTE LOCALE— and
the other in German — OKTS-POST. Front this
period no copies of the 4
centimes (Vaud) are to be
met with, and it is probable,
therefore, that it was super-
seded by the 2| rappen. Its
short existence is doubtless
the reason of its being much
Less commonly met with than

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

its companion stamp of 5 centimes, which
continued longer in nse.

In October, 1850, two other stamps were
issued for two circuits : 5 rappen, black on
blue paper, for the first cir-
cuit— Rayon I. ; and 10 rap.,
black on yellow, for the second
circuit — Rayon II. The 5
centimes (Vaud) appears also
to hare been employed con-
temporaneously with these
stamps, as also another stamp
of the value of 5 centimes, called the
Neufchatel stamp. This latter was pro-
bably issued about the month
of August, 1851, and continued
to be employed till about the
close of that year. The two
stamps of 2 g rappen— poste
locale and orts-post — were
suppressed at the end of 1851 ;
and two other stamps were
issued, of 15 rappen and 15 centimes, for a
third Rayon — Rayon III. The 5 rappen,
Rayon I., had also ceased to be printed
in black on blue paper, and was then printed
in blue on white, and the colour of the paper
of the 10 rappen was made deeper in tone.
On the 1st January, 1852, the entire series
in use consisted of : —

Rayon I. 5 rappen
II. 10 „
„ HI. 15 „
,, ,,15 centimes

blue on white,
black on orange.
red on white,
red on white.

These stamps remained in use till October,
1854.

With regard to tbe two stamps, 4 and 5
centimes (Vaud), there seems to be only one
type for the two values, the sole difference
between the two stamps consisting in the
figure of value. . Throughout the 4 centimes
I have never detected any variation in the
shape of the figure ; but in the 5 centimes
there are at least two, if not more, types of
the figure of value, and the letter c of cts.
does not seem to be invariably the same.
Doubtless, while the 5 centimes was in use,
several transfers were made of the body
of the engraving. Of the 5 centimes
(JSTeufchatel) M. Regnard states that there
are as many varieties as stamps on the

plate. For want of a sufficient number
of specimens, I have not been able to. ascer-
tain whether his statement is correct ; but so
far as my observations have gone I have not
detected any varieties.

It does not appear from M. Schulze's
communication where or by whom the above
stamps had been printed ; but the 2^- rappen
poste locale and orts-post, the 5" rappen
Rayon I., the 10 rappen Rayon II., and the
two stamps of Rayon III., were the work of
M. Durheim, a lithographic printer at Berne.
The whole of these stamps, with the exception
of the two for Rayon III., were engraved on
stone in five rows, eight in each row, thus
making 40 types, all differing from each
other in some of the minuter detads. Four
transfers were then taken from the engraving",
so as to form a sheet of 160 stamps. Very
shortly after the appearance of the 2 1 rappen
stamps, a black line was added round the
cross ; and this addition was afterwards made
to the 5 rappen stamps black on blue paper,
but as this was only effected shortly before
they ceased to be printed on blue paper,
specimens of this latter value with the black
line are rather scarce.

This line round the cross was never applied
to the stamps of 10 rappen, and was effaced
from the engraving of the 5 rappen pre-
viously to the stamps being printed in blue
on white paper, though imperfectly in some
cases, as specimens are found in which slight
traces of the line still appear.

The 15 rappen Rayon III. stamps were
engraved on stone in two rows of five each,
ten in all, each stamp differing from the
others in some minute details, and transfers
were taken from this engraving. The letters
Rp. were then effaced and replaced by the
letters Cts., so that the same varieties in the
design are found in the centime series as in
the rappen sei'ies. A careful examination of
specimens of the centime series will also
show that the lettering is not uniform in each
variety, the size and form of the letter C
is especially noticeable, evidently showing
that the engraving was subsequently re-
touched.

The supply of 15 rappen doubtless be-
coming exhausted, a second engraving was
made also of ten stamps. This is readily

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

distinguishable from the first by the size of
the figures, as well as by the details of the
groundwork, &c.

The annual consumption of these stamps
having in the year 1854 reached six millions,
the Federal government de-
cided on the issue of a new
series, and on the removal of
the manufacture of them to
the mint. On the first of
October, 1854, the new series
appeared, consisting of five
values, 5, 10, 15, 20, and .40
centimes, rappen, or centesimi — the three
languages being all employed in the new de-
sign. The whole of the finished and unfin-
ished sheets in the hands of M. Durheim
were handed over by him to the postal admin-
istration, as well as the original engravings.
These latter were defaced by the adminis-
tration, and the remaining stock of the old
stamps was burnt.

PROPOSED FRENCH OFFICIAL
STAMPS.

A committee was appointed last summer by
the French National Assembly, to examine
the working of the French postal service,
and its report, which teems with interesting
matter, was duly published in the Journal
Ojficlel. For the present, however, we must
content ourselves with extracting the pro-
posals of the committee with reference to the
emission of French official stamps. These
proposals are most probably still under con-
sideration.

After suggesting the propriety of making
the prepayment of general correspondence
obligatory, "there is another reform," says
the report, which in principle is unquestion-
ably just, profitable to the Treasury, sought
after since the time of Louis XV., and
which, from our point of view, it appears not
impossible to realise — we speak of the
revision of the restriction of the franking
privdege, and of the measures to be taken
to diminish the abuses of it, already lessened,
it is true, but still great.

Assuredly the law was a just one, and
politically useful, which decided under every

regime that officials called on to correspond

between themselves on matters of public in-
terest, might do so gratis. But, little by
little, as always happens, by the "side of
justifiable exemptions others grew up which
were not so. For instance, is it not going
beyond the limits, to authorise private person?
to write entirely without cost to certain
functionaries, and to the ministers ? Still,
if that were all, we might bear with the evil.
But it exists elsewhere, and in greater degree
— it exists, above all, in that dishonesty
which diverts to a large extent the postal
franchise from its legitimate employment.

But too of ten letters referring to matters
of only private interest reach the addressee-;
post free in consequence of their bearing a
frank-mark to which they have no right. On
other occasions, the person possessing the
franking privilege receives post free, under a
double envelope, a letter intended for some
one of his acquaintance, and transmits it
to him. Again, it is not only the pos-
sessors of the privilege who misuse it : their
subordinates very frequently arrogate to
themselves, in turn, the profit of an illegal
practice; in fact, in many public offices
it is the fixed custom to substitute a hand-
stamp for the signature which alone in the
first instance conferred exemption ; and it will
be easily understood that this handstamp,
more or less clandestinely employed, protects
from payment a great many letters on which
the Treasury ought to receive the postage.

Does this prove that the postal adminis-
tration is powerless against such culpable
practices? In theory, no; in reality, yes.
The postal agent who suspects a violation of
the law, certainly has it in his power to
cause a verification to be made according to
the prescribed rules. Some few have tried
it, but it must be admitted their zeal has not
been successful. It must not be forgotten
that the possessors of the franking privilege
are all personages endowed with a certain
authority, and that an investigation into the
circumstances of its employment being an
implication against their good faith, even
when it only touches on the proceedings
of their subordinates, gives birth, as is but
natural, to ill-humour and rancour. Thus it
happens that at present, and for a long time

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

past, a certain tolerance has passed into a
custom.

These abuses are not incurable. It is even
permissible to hope two energetic remedies
would speedily reduce them. The first thing
to do would be to revise and cut down the
long list of existing exemptions, settled in
1844, and largely added to since in practice ;
and some members of the committee are
of opinion that it would be desirable to lay
down the principle that the receipt of free
letters should alone be permitted. The
second measure to be taken against fraud
would be to change, so as to render verifi-
cation possible, the mode of franking.
Perhaps it would be advisable not to allow
any unpaid official letters to pass the post,
but to insist on prepayment, and reimburse
the functionaries possessing the " franchise "
afterwards ; this is what the English do.*
Perhaps it would be stdl better to renounce
the system of signatures and handstamps,
and issue special postage stamps, differing
from the others both in form and colour,
which each minister would distribute to his
immediate subordinates, who, in turn, would
then hand them over to such of the inferior
employes as might possess the right to use
them.

Each one would receive in proportion to
the average of his requirements. There
would be no lack of elements for establishing
this average. For instance, there is not a pre-
fecture where an estimate could not be made
of the usual number of letters per annum
which the mayor of each commune sends to
the prefect, and of the replies which are for-
warded to them. There is not a court of
justice of which the prorureiir general could
not reckon up the number of letters exchanged
between it and the other courts of the district.
These, and other corresponding reports, pre-
pared in each administration, would serve as
a basis for the distribution of the stamps among
those entitled to use them. If there were
not enough, an increase should not be re-
fused, but as the insufficiency would have to be

* [Our neighbours are in error ; our public functionaries
do not prepay their correspondence ; but its weight and
the postage which would have been paid thereon are
estimated, and the post-office takes credit for the amount
in its annual report.— Et>.]

proved, an investigation perhaps provoked,
and a formal request made, one might hope
that the possessors of the privilege would
not only abstain from abusing it themselves,
but would endeavour to prevent fraud from
being carried on around them.

The Spaniards have finished by adopting
the preceding system, and appear as satisfied
with it as the English are with their com-
bination. We find ourselves, then, authorised
to say that a committee of experienced men,
guided by the trials already made on the
other side of the channel and the Pyrenees,
elucidating and applying the ideas above
emitted, coiild not fad to find a satisfactory
solution of the difficult problem which has
hitherto defied every effort.

NEW GRANADA "BOGUS" STAMPS.

Messrs. Stanley Gibbons and Co. have for-
warded to us some specimens of Colombian
stamps lately received by them from Mr.
Engelhardt Fohl. As we have seen specimens
similar to some of these in the hands of a
dealer, at prices for which genuine copies
ought to be bought, we would give a word
of caution to our readers to beware of these
imitations. One of these stamps is a sobre-
pokte 25 centavos, 1870; but this is so badly
executed as not to be likely to deceive.
Would that as much" could be said about the
rest of the batch ; they are carefully got up
and gummed. The greater part of the speci-
mens are obliterated with an oval mark,
within which parts of the word "Bogota"
are to be eeen ; and they have remnants
of paper on the backs, as if they had been
torn from a letter.

The first lot consists of the 5 c, 10 c, 20 c,
and 50 c. of the 1864 type. The colours of
the imitations differ considerably from those
of the genuine, especially in the 5 c. and
20 c, the first of which is far too yellow, and
the latter too vermilion. A great difference
is also perceptible in the figures of value ; but
we think the most ready mode of detecting
them is to observe the bottom of the shield.
In the genuine copies this is only a line, but
in the forged ones it is a small ship. It
should be remarked that all the stamps are
from the same stone, the figures of value

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE

being changed to adapt them to the different
values.

The next lot consists of the 1865 series.
The peso is given in two colonrs — carmine
and vermilion. These stamps may be dis-
tinguished from the genuine by the shading
of the left upper corner. In the forgeries
this shading radiates from the oval, while in
the genuine ones it is oblique. All these
stamps are also from the same stone, with
the figures of value altered to adapt it to the
other values.

The next are two nondescript stamps, of
20 and 50 centavos, of the type of the 10
centavos of 1867. An engraving of the 10
centavos has therefore been made and adapted
to these fanciful stamps by changing the
figure of value.

The last is the 10 pesos of 1867, by no
means badly executed. Unfortunately — or
rather, we ought to say, fortunately — the
forgers have made two errors in the inscrip-
tion, which reads correos nues e it. de.
Columbia, instead of correos nles. e. u. de
Colombia. There are also three stars too
many.

DANGEROUS FORGERIES.

There are plenty of common counterfeits
of the stamps of Romagna, which can only
deceive the utterest tyros, but a new set of
forgeries has just made its appearance which
are calculated to mislead the most experi-
enced philatelist. It is true that there is
hardly a single detail in which they do not
differ from the genuine stamps, but the
difference in every instance but one is so
slight as to be practically imperceptible, ex-
cept on close comparison with the true type,
and is consequently impossible to describe
with sufficient accuracy to render detection
certain. Happily there is one item in which
the imitation is manifestly imperfect, and it
will permit of instant recognition of the
counterfeits without reference to the genuine
stamps. TVe allude to the position of the
ornament in the right upper corner. In the
genuine this ornament is square with the
comer, and therefore in a straight line with
the word bollo ; whilst in the forgery it lias
quite slipped out of place and slopes con-

siderably to the right, almost touching the
letter p of POSTALS ; furthermore, if ;i line be
drawn along the bottom of the word BOLLO,

quite a third of the entire ornament will be
found to lie below it.

If placed by the side of genuine stamps,
the thickness of the lettering in the forgeries
(except in the word Romagne) will be per-
ceived, and likewise the difference in the
colour of the paper, which accords neither
with that of the originals nor that of the re-
prints, which latter are all from the one sole
genuine die.

These forgeries are all postmarked with
an imitation of the correct obliteration ; but
here again there is a considerable difference,
the space between the bars of the forged
portmark being nearly double as large as
between those of the genuine.

The vendors of these counterfeits reside
at Messina, whence they addressed a supply
to our publishers, to whom the thanks of
philatelists are due for the steps they have
immediately taken to secure the exposure of
imitations which, had they passed unnoticed,
would have done great harm.

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE PKOrOSED PHILATELICAL CONGRESS.
To the Editor of "The Stamp-Coli.ectou's Magazine."

Dear Sir,— Will you permit me to ask a few questions
about the "congress," to be held at Paris, of which you
speak in your number for December: As I shall in all
probability be in Paris in August or September, 1 should
very much like to attend the meeting you propose, bill
only as one who desires to learn, as I am not a gnat col-
lector, and my experience of philatelical matters is very
limited. But I suppose that the congress you propose
would be public, or at least that one would obtain admis-
sion on the payment of a certain entrance fee. As you
ask persons likely to attend to write you, I do so now, and
propose that the meeting should be held in some public
room, where everyone should be admitted, collectors and
outsiders, on payment of a certain sum. The Parisians
being rather curious, I fancy many people would attend,
and so not only any expenses incurred by the hiring of
the room might be covered, but perhaps also a small sum
made, which might be devoted to any plan for the en-
couragement of stamp-collecting. I suppose that before
hiring rooms, a certain sum would have to be made sure
of, and propose, therefore, prepayment by stamp-collectors
who intend being present, or a guarantee on their part.

Trusting that I have not taken up too much of your
valuable space,

I remain,

Yours truly.

Torquay. V>. ('. DEL ('.

TIIE STAMP -COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

The Philatelical Journal. — We deeply regret
that this is the last occasion on which we
shall have the pleasure of noticing this
journal as a monthly publication. Too
much credit cannot be given to the accom-
plished editor for his energy in completing
the first and only volume by the issue of the
two concluding numbers now before us, of
which the preparation has been superintended
from a sick bed. Philately itself acquires
new dignity from the devotedness of such
faithful servants as Mr. Pemberton, and our
readers will share our own pleasure on learn-
ing that The Philatelical Journal is to be
continued, in the words of its editor, as " a
high-class quarterly." Such a magazine, in
which exhaustive monographs may be pub-
lished without such interruptions as are
almost necessarily incidental to their ap-
pearance in a monthly journal, will, we doubt
not, prove of great utility ; and we trust that
long ere the promised first nirmber appears,
its editor's health, sorely tried by a most
painful and protracted illness, may be com-
pletely re-established.

Turning now to the issues for November
and December, we find them, like their prede-
cessors, full of readable matter. The double
number for November contains no less than
sixteen articles, among which may be spe-
cially signalized for their interest the con-
cluding portion of the " Parisian Collector's "
paper on " The Turkish Stamps," the list of
" Bogus Novelties," and " Roadside Ram-
blings," by Quelqu'un. Who the " Some-
body " is by whom the last-named paper was
written it is not for us to say ; but those who
are not in the secret may form a shrewd
guess as to the authorship from its style.

dancing through the pages of this num-
ber, we come upon an observation which
students of obsolete series would do well to
bear in mind.

It is an understood axiom in studying used stamps, that
a single obliteration of a certain date cannot fix the
currency of a stamp of uncertain date, since a long obso-
lete stamp may, by [one of] a thousand accidents, be used
years after it has ceased to have a postal existence.

Under the heading " Russian Locals," the
editor inserts, and comments on, the letter

VOL. xr. No. 122.

of a sceptical correspondent, who pretends
that the Helsingfors stamp and Russian
locals are not postals. The assertions of this
correspondent illustrate the truth of the
saying that a " little knowledge is a dange-
rous thing." The rural or secondary posts,
the existence of which the head of the foreign
department of the Russian post-office is
stated to have denied, are referred to in the
report recently published in the government
organ, The Official Messenger. However, we
will resist the temptation of going farther
into the subject, Mr. Overy Taylor being, as
we understand, engaged in preparing a com-
plete history of the Russian local stamps,
which we trust to have the pleasure of nub-
lishing- shortly.

The December number is made up of the
usual " Cream ; " " Our Black List," in which
Messrs. Sidney Simpson & Co., of unenviable
notoriety, and other minor forgery-sellers,
are shown up ; "Novelties ;" " The Stamped
Envelopes of the United States," an ana-
lytical article, of value to phdatelists who
collect those envelopes in all their varieties of
size and paper ; " Remarks on The Philatelical
Journal, No. 8," a series of acute commen-
taries ; "Reviews;" and "Bogus Novelties."
The review of the tenth volume of The
Stamp-Collector's Magazine is a most kind
and gratifying one, evidently prompted by
feelings of warm and hearty sympathy, and
we shall always hold it in pleasant remem-
brance.

La Gazette cles Timhres. — The last two
numbers of this journal have each made
their appearance some considerable time
after their nominal date of publication. En-
gravers and clicheurs are blamed for their
delay ; but, speaking with some experience in
this matter, we believe that all such diffi-
culties could be overcome by the exercise of
the necessary amount of toill ; with the de-
termination would come the ability to be
punctual, and the Gazette would gain by
regularity as much as it must now lose by its
unbusmess-like lack of it.

The chief interest of the two numbers lies
in the editor's paper on the Japanese stamp-,
to which we have already incidentally refer-
red, and of which, when complete, we intend
tnvinu1 an abstract. In the " Minor Gazette "

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

the best mothod to be adopted for mount-
ing stamps and envelopes is discussed.

The Philatelist— Of this excellent publi-
cation we have three numbers to notice.
That for November is somewhat below the
usual standard, but the December emission
is distinguished by the illustrations of the
types of the new Chilian envelopes and the
30 c. Straits Settlements; whilst the January
number is equally noteworthy for the engrav-
ings of the New Zealand stamps. In the
latter appears a fresh instalment of " The
Spud Papers," but this time from Mr. Pem-
berton's pen.

Le Timbre Paste. — The November number
contains the translation of a letter from the
director of the local post of Louga, addressed
to a philatelist who had thought it possible,
by sending him a rouble bank-note, to obtain
a supply of the Louga stamps. The reply is
a sample of obtuse officialism, and well ex-
emplifies the truth of the saying, attributed
to the first Napoleon, " Scratch a Russian,
and you find the Tartar beneath." Some
interesting details respecting the Romag-
nese stamps are given in the December
impression. On the 2nd July, 1859, a
certain Professor Gherardi de Lugo was re-
quested to prepare a design for the projected
series ; and as he failed to comply with the
request, the Turin post-office was applied to
for a type, but ultimately the design known
to collectors was adopted by the " Govern-
ment Assembly" of Romagna, and the supply
printed at Bologna. The emission of the
series was notified by a decree signed by the
governor-general, and dated Bologna, 30th
August, 1859 ; its suppression was decreed
by the governor of the Emilian provinces
on the 12th January, I860.

In the current instalment of the article on
" Stamped Envelopes " Dr. Magnus refers,
inter alia, to M. Bronne's visit to England,
in 1841, as envoy of the Belgian post-office,
and his report on the comparative advantages
of adhesive stamps and stamped envelopes.
M. Bronne decided in favour of the latter,
and gave in a design for an envelope, of
which Le Timbre Paste piiblishes an illustra-
tion.

The January number treats of the mythi-
cal 10 c. Prince Edward Island, of which it

now appears M. Moens received his three
specimens from Mr. Goldner. M. Mucus in-
clines to think they are genuine embryos;
time will prove.

PAPERS FOR BEGINNERS.— No. XXV.

BY OVERY TAYLOR.

EUROPE.

France.

/S7<?wj>s issued by the German authorities.

In the last paper an incidental reference was
made to the stamps commonly known as
forming the " Alsace and Lorraine " series,
which we have now to consider in detail.
The name they have received is essentially
inaccurate, but it embodies the general belief
entertained at the time of their emission,
that their circulation would not extend be-
yond the ancient Elsass and Lothringen, of
which it was the assumed intention of the
Germans to take possession. In other words,
the administration of the postal service in
those provinces was looked upon as a mere
preliminary — as in the case of the Schleswig-
Holstein emissions — to the formal annexatii >n.
Not even those who foresaw the probability
of the occupation of the heart of the country
by the invaders had any idea that the Ger-
man postal employes would follow the army
and re-establish the every-day service where-
ever that army obtained a firm hold. Such,
however, was the case. The currency of
the "Alsace and Lorraine" stamps, origi-
nally limited to the vicinity of Strasbourg,
spread with the unheard-of progress of the
German arms, northwards as far as Abbe-
ville, and westward almost to Le Mans. At
the termination of the war their circulation
was once more restricted to the two border
provinces, wherein they lost all claim to be
considered as French stamps, and became in
reality a provisional German series.

Some collectors may question the propriety
of classing these stamps with the French,
but on this point the opinion of the leading
French authority —Dr. Magnus — may well
be considered c mclusive. In almost the last
number of the extinct Timbrophilf, after ad-
verting to the difficulty of coming to a de-
cision, he expresses the opinion that, although

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

wS&sxMt

\> <.......<,.;.t

not a French emission, they should still find
place in an article treating of the stamps in
use in France in 1870-71. They cannot, in
fact, -with any propriety be classed apart, for,
as shown above, they were employed not
only in Alsace and Lorraine, but in several
other provinces ; nor can they be placed with
the German stamps, for they were not, ex-
cept at the last, used in Germany, and it is
certainly a safer course to chronicle the
stamps according to the place of their cur-
rency than according to the nationality of the
issuing authorities.

The emission of the Franco- German
stamps took place about the end of August,
1870, when five values made
their appearance, 1 c, 2 c,
4 c, 10 c, and 20 c. In Jan-
uary of the following year
two more values were is-
sued, the 5 c. and 25 c,
which completed the series.
The design offers but slight
ground for comment. Whether from mo-
tives of delicacy towards the invaded, as has
been suggested, or, as is more probable, from
mere considerations of utility, the inscription
is limited to the word posies, and nothing
appears on the face of the stamps to indicate
the circumstances which led to their emis-
sion. These stamps were made for use, and
not for ornament ; and like many another
series, hailing from the banks of the Rhine,
they give proof of the true German love
of things practical. For most collectors one
specimen of each value will suffice, but those
who care for varieties will be careful to ob-
tain examples of an erreur d'impression,
which occurred in respect of all, or nearly
all, the values, and consists, to put it con-
cisely, in the ground-pattern being upside
down. In copies which present the design
in its normal state, the concave side of the
curves is uppermost, in the errors the reverse
is the case ; but the occurrence of these
varieties proves simply that the printer took
hold of the sheet, on which the buralage had
been impressed in advance, by the bottom,
instead of the top, when he put it under the
press to receive the imprint of the frame
and inscription of the stamps.

It has been stated that a sub-type exists,

with the lettering closer together. This is
by no means improbable, but I have had no
means of verifying the statement. I have
compared together stamps showing the bure-
lage right side up, with others with reversed
burelage, and find the inscriptions differ only
to such a slight and almost inappreciable ex-
tent as may be explained by the clearness or
the thickness, as the case may be, of the
impression.

In colour some of the stamps vary con-
siderably ; thus the 2 c, with ordinary
ground, is of a dark chocolate-brown, whilst
those with reversed burelage are of a lig-ht
red-brown, approaching to burnt sienna.
The 10 c. also exists in at least two distinct
shades, and minor variation's may be noticed
in the others. No doubt the total quantity
of stamps used was very large ; the acci-
dental appearance of colour varieties is there-
fore by no means surprising.

Post Cards. — These were issued in the be-
ginning of the year 1871. They bore no
impressed stamp. They contain, however, a
place for an adhesive, and bear the needful
inscriptions. I have never come across any
of these cards myself, and have reason to
suppose that their circulation must have been
extremely limited.

Tax on Letters. — Just after the armistice
was concluded, by virtue of which (among
other things) the Germans were to hold the
department of the Somme until after the
payment of the first half milliard of the indem-
nity, a charge of 20 centimes each was made
by the German officials on all letters posted
within that department. This charge they
had received orders (as the French journals
put it) from " a very high quarter " to im-
pose, and it was collected at the receiving
post-office. All letters from towns in the
Somme bore, besides the French 20 c. ad-
hesive, the handstamped inscription taxi-;
allemande, followed by a large figure 2, sig-
nifying two decimes. This tax, or "requi-
sition," remained in force for about sixweeks ;
why it was withdrawn I do not now remem-
ber. The imposition of such a charge was a
high-handed proceeding on the part of the
Germans, especially after the conclusion of
peace ; but it must be said that if their man-
agement of the French post-offices was signal-.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

ised by some arbitrary acts, it was also made
the opportunity for beneficial innovations,
which, unfortunately, the French have been
unable to maintain in force ; as, for instance,
when letters were carried by the Germans
between Amiens and any occupied town at
ten centimes, instead of twenty.

UNPAID LETTER STAMPS.

The chiffre-taxe stamps are applied by the
postal officials to unpaid letters, and indicate
the amount of postage which
the postman is entitled to
claim on delivering the let-
ter. In 1859 two stamps,
both of the value of 10 cen-
times, were issued ; the first
was lithographed, and was in
fact a provisional ; the second was typo-
graphed. The first was in use but for a
very short time, and is, consequently, rare ;
the second remained in use until 1863, when
it was superseded by the 15 c. The latter
continued in circulation until 1871, when the
three current values made their appearance.
All these stamps are of one and the same
type ; the two 10 c. and the 15 c. are printed
in black. The current set reads as follows:

25 centimes

40 „
00

black.

blue.

yellow-ochre.

Besides these there is mention made in Le
Timbre-Poste of May, 1871, of a lithographed
15 c. black, supposed to be of Bordeaux
origin, bnt, as far as I am aware, no further
information respecting it has been obtained.

Of the foregoing values a line-pierced issue
of the engraved 15 c. took place, of which
specimens are rather scarce, and the current
25 c. is also found so perforated.

The existing 25 c. represents the charge
for unpaid letters posted and delivered in
one and the same district. The other two
current values are for general correspondence,
but they are hardly ever used, either because
the number of unpaid letters is very small,
or because the postal employes prefer mark-
ing the postage in ink, as they have been
accustomed to do.

JOURNAL STAMPS.
The stamps of which the design is here

,-T_f^

figured were issued about April, 1809, and arc
now obsolete. They
were nominally of the
value 2 c, and -were
printed in three co-
lours— violet, blue,
and red. The violet
stamps are not fairly
collectable, since they
represent only the tax
or duty on the jour-
nals to which they
were affixed. The
blues and the reds

represented the tax plus the postage, and

are therefore admissible. Their real values

were as follows : —

For Provincial Journals: —

2 c. blue — tax 2 c. + postage within the de-
partment 2 c. = 4 centimes.
2 c. red — tax 2 c. + postage to any pari of
the country 4 c. = 6 centimes.

The issue of a similar series for the
Parisian journals was also contemplated in
the same colours, but of the value of 5 c,
which in the case of the violet represented
the duty only, while the blues and the reds
represented the tax plus the postage. These
latter stamps were, however, never issued.

The stamps had to be stuck on the
newspaper sheets before the latter were
printed on, so that they might be obliter-
ated by the print. To that intent it was
ordered that they should be placed at the
right upper angle of the first page. No
limit, it may be useful to observe, was put on
the period within which the newspapers
thus prepaid might go through the post.

The collection of unobliterated specimens
must now be very difficult, and used copies
are for the most part obliterated by the print
in an unsightly manner ; yet these difficulties
do not constitute any reason for our rejecting
the stamps, of which the higher values un-
questionably possess a postal character.

POST CARDS.

The emission of official post cards having
taken place only a few days prior to the
writing of these lines, any description of
them would he out of place, as they will no

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

doubt be fully treated of in another portion
of the present number.

ESSAYS.

Several essays have been at different times
submitted to the postal administration, but
they offer but slight interest,
especially to beginners. The
best known are the envelope
essay, of which an engraving
is annexed, and a companion
essay issued at the same time,
of a similar type but rather
larger, and showing at the
top the imperial crown only.
They were prepared in 1866,
and were the production of a certain M.
Renard. It is possible that they were really
offered to the government ; it is certain that
so large was the number printed that a
Parisian philatelic journal was able to give
a specimen with every copy, and a Parisian
dealer was in a position to quote them at 50
centimes each, in no matter what colour.

There are also two very scarce envelope
essays by M. Barre, — one a small oval, the
other a small circular design, each with lau-
reated head of emperor in centre, issued in
1862, and several other essays have emanated
from his atelier. From time to time reports
of a forthcoming emission of envelopes have
obtained currency, but it seems doubtful
whether the project has ever been seriously
considered.

The essays of adhesive stamp? are, taken
altogether, uninteresting, at any rate to
beginners, and lack the necessary guarantees
of authenticity.

Hybrid Emissions in Paris during tJie
two Sieges.

During the Prussian investment of Paris,
tbe " besieged residents" were allowed to use
post cards for their communications with
the outer world per balloon, but no official
post cards, in the ordinary sense of the
word, were issued. Within certain limits
of weight and size the public was left free to
choose such textures as it pleased. Various
cards were prepared and sold by stationers,
and copies of some of them may still be ob-
tained in Paris.

There were, however, official cards of a

special description ; they could be purchased
in the Paris post-offices at 5 centimes each ;
to indicate their value they bore a 5 c.
adhesive, and they contained, in addition to
certain necessary instructions, four ruled
and numbered spaces for simple negative or
affirmative replies to an equal number of
questions. The purchaser of the card in Paris
wrote in a letter the questions he wished
to ask, enclosed the card with the letter, and
despatched the whole by balloon post. The
receiver tilled in his replies on the card, took
it to the nearest post-office, and against pay-
ment of a franc the card was transmitted to
a central office at Clermont Ferrand. There
the address and the replies were copied on a
large sheet of paper of which, by a special
process, a miniature photograph was obtained,
a sheet containing twelve to fifteen hundred
messages being condensed into a space of
about two-and-a-half square inches. This
photographic copy was sent by pigeon post to
Paris, and there, by means of an electric light
and the most powerful procurable magnify-
ing glasses, the messages were reproduced in
legible characters, the photographic impres-
sion being magnified 160 times. Before the
screen on which the messages were shewn
four clerks sat at a table, and methodically
copied them off. By this ingenious combi-
nation many an anxious dweller in the
capital received intelligence from his absent
family.

During the reign of the Commune many
stratagems were employed to secure the safe
delivery of letters in or from Paris after
regular communication with the capital had
been cut off. More than one article in these
pages has been devoted to the description of
the expedients adopted, but it is not within
my province to do more than refer to the ex-
istence of the private postal agencies by which
it is affirmed stamps were issued. Personally
I may say, that with special opportunities of
learning of the issue of such stamps, I never
met with nor heard of any. I have seen
placarded the advertisements of more than
one postal agent, but have never seen any
mention in them of the employment of stamps ;
and I can only conclude, that if any were
really used the number must have been ex-
ceedingly small. On this subject the re-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

marks of Dr. Magnus may be studied with
advantage. After referring to the commun-
ist decree that all letters from the exterior
delivered in Paris must bear a 10 c. stamp,
besides the usual postage, and explaining the
circumstances which gave rise to the es-
tablishment of postal agencies, he goes on
to say : — ■

Of these agencies the majority collected their charges
by means of the ordinary government stamps which were
remitted to them with the letters. The Moreau agency
used 15 c. and 25 c. envelopes, which were sold by all the
postage-stamp retailers, and even in the post-offices. The
employment of these envelopes, which bore not a stamp,
but the mention of their value, covered the agent's
charge, but did not dispense from the payment of the
special rate of 10 c. for the town of Faris.

The Lorin office made use of envelopes and adhesive
st imps, the latter being of two kinds— the postage stamp
proper, serving to check the receipts, and the unpaid let-
ter stamp representing the charge to be collected, accord-
ing to the nature of the letter. The employment of these
stamps and envelopes was exceedingly limited.

Other agencies, whilst doing the same work, used nei-
ther stamps nor envelopes, but private people who were
never engaged in the service have not been behindhand
in issuing stamps. To that order belongs the series of 252
stamps, said tn have emanated from Versailles, hut which,
in fact, had their home in the inventive brain of some
native of the country of the locusts and the obelisk.

We will not pursue any further this subject, which ap-
pears to us to be destitute of interest, but which, like the
American local posts, may serve as a prolific source of de-
ception.

The only stamps I have seen are those of
the Lorin office, and they could be obtained
f >r next to nothing after the struggle was
over. However, following Dr. Magnus's
excellent example, I will not discuss these
emissions any further, nor — having completed
the review of the French stamps — will I un-
duly prolong the present paper.

OX THE

MOTIVES FOR THE EMISSION
NEW SERIES OF STAMPS.

1SY THE EDITOR.

Generally speaking that which is the result
of pure accident excites less interest than
that which has its origin in some well-defined
cause. Thus, for instance, mere secondary
colour varieties, due solely to the thickness or
composition of the printing-ink, or the amount
of force used in obtaining the impression, are
admitted on all hands to be of inferior value
to varieties due to intentional changes of
type, paper, or perforation. The operation

of merely fortuitous circumstances in connec-
tion with the appearance of any given stamp
evokes a passing surprise, but adds nothing
to our knowledge, and therefore can add
nothing to our interest in the pursuit. In
like manner, if the constant succession of
new series were due simply to chance
or whim, or that monotonous opposite, an
unvarying rule, such accidental or inevitable
productions, as the case might be, would be
devoid of one chief attraction. There are, in
fact, some few emissions forwhose appearance
we are at a loss to account, and there are
countries where series follows series with
such rapidity as to give rise to the passing
doubt whether such continual change can
have any serious motive ; but we are con-
vinced that in every instance good and
sufficient reasons exist, if we did but
know them. We purpose jotting down
in the present article the principal known
causes of new emissions, and hope not only
to interest our readers, but also to incite
philatelists abroad to obtain information
as to the raison d'etre of series of which
nothing is known beyond the mere fact of
their appearance and currency.

The causes of the emission of new series
may be roughly classed under four headings :

1. Political changes.

2. Alteration of the unit of currency.

3. Revision of postal rates.

4. Depreciation of the plates or dies of
stamps, or other technical motive. .

1. Political Changes. These consist in (ai)
the death or deposition of the reigning
monarch, and the consequent occupation of
the throne by his successor ; (&) the substitu-
tion of one form of government for another ;
(f) the extension of territory. The death of
Leopold I. led to the emission of the current
series, bearing his son's profile; the deposition
of Prince Couza and the accession of Prince
Charles gave us the first series with the
hitter's portrait; the death, in succession, of
Queen Maria and King Pedro, of Portugal,
Oansed the issue of two new series: whilst
the execution of Maximilian in Mexico, and
the assassination of Prince Michael of Servia,
led to the emission of new stamps containing
the portraits of their respective successors.
In like manner, the dictatorship of Colonel

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Prado in Peru was the cause of the appear-
ance of the beautiful series of stamps bearing
a group of llamas in the centre. The acces-
sion of King John of Saxony, of Kings Kame-
hameha IV. and V. of the Sandwich Islands,
and of Rajah Charles Brooke in Sarawak,
were all signalised bj the issue of new series
of stamps. The substitution of one form of
government for another as the motive of a
new emission is exemplified twice over in the
case of France. Mexico, also, again furnishes
a case in point, and with the mention of
Spain the list is tolerably complete. The
third species of political change — extension
of territory — produced its philatelical effect
in the issue of new stamps for the German
Empire, previously the North German Con-
federation ; and for the kingdom of Italy,
of which the sovereign was previously king
of Piedmont.

2. Alteration of the Unit of Currency. Our
North American dependencies offer several
instances of the issue of new series, in conse-
quence of the decimal system superseding the
old English pounds, shillings, and pence.
Canada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New
Brunswick, and British Columbia, all of
necessity changed the types of their stamps
when they changed their monetary system.
The last Spanish series, with head of
queen, was inscribed with the values in
fractions of the new unit — the escndo. The
Roumanian authorities issued a fresh series of
stamps, with value in bani, after the adoption
of the decimal system ; and Ceylon has re-
cently shown us the example of a similar
change.

3. The Revision of Postal Rates. This motive-
power receives its most notable exemplifica-
tion in the change in colour and type which
took place in the various German states, in
consequence of the treaty entered into be-
tween them which regulated the postal tariffs
throughoutthe old confederation. Alteration
in the rates has, however, more frequently
resulted in the issue of isolated values than
of entire series — to wit, the 30 c. French, the
ninepenny English, the seven cents of the
United States, the threepenny of Ceylon and
of Western Australia, the 6 annas 8 pics
of India, &c. In this country it led to the
simultaneous issue of three stamps — the 10d.,

2/-, and 5/- ; and in Piedmont, to the emission
of the 1856 series.

4. Depreciation of the Plates orDies of Stamps,
or other technical motive. — This, it must be
allowed, is a very broad definition, and it is
intended to embrace in reality those motives
at which in many instances we can but guess.
That the issue of the current Portuguese
series was decided on in consequence of the
defective impressions obtained from the dies
of the preceding type, is a conjecture which
has every probability in its favour ; but who
can give with equal certainty the reason for
the substitution of the current Norwegian
type, with value twice repeated, for its pre-
decessor, with value expressed only once ?
Why were the Swiss stamps of 1854 super-
seded by those of 1862 ? Was it because a
difficulty was found in adapting the perfor-
ating needles to the old size ? The Ar-
gentine issue of 1864 was evidently sup-
pressed on account of the roughness of the
later printed supplies. It may be assumed
that the first Egyptian series gave place to
the second for a similar reason. The con-
stant succession of Granadine stamps, all of
designs bearing a family resemblance to each
other, and all on aboiit the same artistic
level, has not been authoritatively explained ;
but it maybe that the activity of the forgers
has been the leading cause, as it certainly
has been the motive for the frequent changes
in the type of the Spanish stamps.

It cannot be doubted that the ugliness of
some stamps has led to their supercession.
Unfortunately, the lack of artistic merit in
the designs is but too seldom made a cause
for their withdrawal ; still, in the case of
the Bolivian stamps, it was the presumable
cause of the suppression of the first series ;
and it may be assumed that in deciding on
the suppression of certain of the Victorian
labels, the authorities were as much in-
fluenced by their mediocrity as by other and
more utilitarian reasons; whilst it is certain
that the United States issue of 1869 was
condemned because the stamps were too
small, and the Canadian series of 1868 be-
cause the stamps were too large.

And here we may close. We do not pretend
to give a complete list of the series comprised
in the ah ive classes. Tb ; f oregoing"*examples

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

will suffice to show that every series is issued
for some good reason, and therefore illus-
trates some fact in the postal history of its
country. It will also, we trust, encourage
collectors in every country to ascertain the
causes of the emission of the stamps that are,
or have been, in use, and when such causes
are unknown, to solicit from the postal au-
thorities an explanation of them, which we
feel sure wordd rarely be refused.

NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED
STAMPS.

Dutch West Indian Possessions. — The types
described in our last number are now in
circulation, and we are pleased to be able

to give engravings of them. Both are of a
high degree of excellence, and form welcome
additions to our stock of South American
stamps. The colours of the two series were
given last month, and it is hardly necessary
to repeat them, but it may be as well to state
that the grey of the 3 c. Curacoa and 10 c.
Surinam has a shade of bistre in it, and that
the 25 c. Curacoa and 50 c. Surinam are of
a brownish-tinted orange.

Fkance. — The post cards, of which the
emission was voted by the Assembly in De-
cember, were not issued until the 15th ult.,
a notice from the post-office informing the
public that it had not been possible to pre-
pare a sufficient supply for the date originally
fixed. The national printing-office received
orders to prepare twelve million of cards, of
which four millions for the 15th January, and
two millions between that date and the 29th
January. The cards are white, rather thin,
smaller than almost any others, and exceed-
ingly plain, being, in fact, simple type-set
inscriptions framed in by a slight ornamental
border, of which the pattern differs for each

value. They do not show an impressed
stamp, but their postal value is represented
by adhesives. The 10 centime cards, for
district correspondence, are ornamented with
aspacefortwo 5 c. stamps, and the 15 centime
cards, for general correspondence, bear a 1 5 c.
bistre stamp. The postmaster-general has
issued a circular to his subordinates laying
down the rules by which the issue and em-
ployment of these cards will be governed ;
and among others there is one which requires
that no unstamped cards be issued to the
public, the employe who neglects to affix the
proper stamps to the cards before selliii^-
them rendering himself liable to certain pen al -
ties. Another regulation permits of the 10 e.
cards being used for what we have termed
general correspondence, provided an ad-
ditional 5 c. stamp be attached to them.
Both these cards are, we have reason to be-
lieve, essentially provisional. Before long
there is great probability of the postal rates
being reduced to their former level, viz.. 2< > c.
for general, etc., and 10 c. for local letters.
In that event a reduction in the price of the
cards must almost inevitably follow; and
when the emission of new 10 c. and 5 c. cards
shall have been decided, we shall expect to
hear of some attention being paid to their de-
vice, and to the preparation of an impressed
stamp.

At the last moment we receive information
of the emission of a nondescript stamp. — an
adhesive, but not issued as such, and nol
intended to prepay letters. It is, in brief,
a 10 c, with head of republic, of the 1849
type, pure and simple, without the enlarged
figures; and it is at present exclusively used
on the Paris local post cards. Its emission is
evidently an afterthought, for on the Paris
10 c. post cards, which hear the new stamp, as
on those used in the provinces, space is
reserved for two 5 c. stamps. Moreover,
the official instructions to the postal officials,
issued a lew days before the appearance of
the post cards, expressly states that the dis-
trict cards will hear two 5 C. stamps, the
authorities not having any 10 c. stamps in
hand. A Rouen correspondent, however, fur-
nishes us with a clue to the mystery. This
new 10 c, of the old type, is printed in
brown on roup, and is no other than the old

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

10 c. bistre, dipped in the bath of colour
used to tint the sheets of the current 80 c. ;
the colouring matter, besides dyeing the
paper rose, having also changed the hue of
the impression itself from bistre to a kind of
bronze-brown. The authorities have thus
turned to good account the surplus stock of
the old 10 c, which value, as our readers
will remember, was rendered obsolete by the
elevation of the postal rates for local letters
to 15 c. One of the Parisian minor papers
states that this stamp will not be used out of
Paris, but we can hardly credit this assertion,
seeing what an economy of time and materiel
would result from the employment of one
stamp, instead of two, for the supplies of
local cards for the provinces. In any case
the new comer may be regarded as a veritable
curiosity ; an adhesive stamp which has no
independent existence, but is only recog-
nised as forming part and parcel of the post
card to which it is attached, being quite an
anomalous creation. We have been informed
that its franking power has been tested by
detaching a specimen from its card, and using

it as an ordinary adhesive to prepay a packet
of patterns, which was subject to a postage
of 10 centimes, and was allowed to pass by
the French post-office. If this be so — and we
shall test it for ourselves — we shall certainly
recommend its collection apart, as an ad-
hesive stamp.

Much to our surprise, the current low
values of the republic have received an ad-
dition in the shape of an engraved 1 c. olive-
green, which we learn has been in use since
the 10th December last. It is a noteworthy
fact that this stamp does not represent any
postal rate, the lowest being, under the new
tariff, two centimes, and it is only absolutely
necessary for the purpose of forming, in con-
junction with the 2 c. stamp, the rate of
three centimes, chargeable on packets of
printed matter not exceeding 10 grammes in
weight. The other rates below 10 c. can be
composed by means of the previously existing*
2 c, 4 c, and 5 c. stamps. Such being the
case, the question suggests itself, — why did
not the French office go the shortest way to
work by issuing a 3 c. stamp ?

New Zealand. — Description and com-
ment on the new series are both rendered al-
most superfluous by the
annexed engravings. De
La Rue is a very Aristides
among stamp engravers,
and we, for our part, feel
almost inclined to call for
an oyster-shell, and con-
demn him "right away."
We are loyal to the back-bone, but what would
we not have given for the portrait of a
tattooed Maori, instead of that stereotyped,
expressionless profile of the Queen. The
Chilians find room on their stamps for Colum-
bus; the Canadians have given us the likeness

of Jacques Cartier ; why, then, did not those
parsimonious New Zealanders supply us with
the effigy of Captain Cook, or Anson, or fit
up a postal gallery of portraits of the early
settlers ? The only consolation we can find
for dissatisfied philatelists lies in the fact that
the new series of stamps, of which, however,
the colours are not yet known, wfll form a
tolerably striking contrast to its prede-
cessor.

Belgium. — The "reply-paid" cards an-
nounced in our last were, in fact, issued with
noteworthy punctuality on New Year's Day,
and answer in all respects to our description,
-which, from ocular inspection of the cards,
we are now able to supplement by some

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

further details. The 5 c. stamp is a transfer
from the adhesive ; the design is in bright
lilac ; the cards are printed back to back, so
that the two inner pages are blank, — the im-
pression in this respect differing from that of
the double Dutch card. The engraver's name,
A. Doms, is written in minute characters in
the lower margin, between the lines of the
borders ; and M. Moens reproaches him with
having slavishly copied the English arrange-
ment of the legend, &c, — a reproach which
appears to us to be hardly merited. One
blunder, however, Mr. Doms did make, which
has necessitated the employment of a govern-
ment scratcher-out ; — he added a T to the
word ANTWOORD, making it read antwoordt ;
and this superfluous letter has had to be
erased by hand from every copy of the card.
It must have been a little orthographical slip
on Mr. Doms' part, as it occurs on both
halves of the card.

Another advance in postal facilities has
been initiated by the Belgian authorities.
The receiver of a reply-paid card need not,
unless he chooses, tear off the first half, con-
taining the sender's communication ; but
may write his own reply on the second half,
and return the card entire to the sender,
without any extra charge being thereby in-
curred. The advantage it may frequently
be to the sender to have his query and the
reply side by side, for reference at any
moment, will be easily perceived. Indeed,
as auxiliaries to letters proper, post cards are
becoming daily of greater importance, in pro-
portion to the extension of their employment
— in wise prevision of the financially pro-
fitable re&ults — by the authorities of different
countries. We have great hopes that the
day which shall see the emission of inter-
national post cards is not far distant ; and we
have indeed already seen it stated in a French
paper that France, which has hitherto been
so much in the rear in postal reforms, will
inaugurate the issue.

At the same time the design of the ordi-
nary postal card has been altered to that of
the "reply paid" cards. The words carte-
CORRESPONDANCE, with the arms of Belgium
underneath, and a stamp of 5 c, are printed
in bright lilac. The card is rather larger
than its predecessor, and exceeds the size

fixed by the ministerial order of December,
1871, by about one-eighth of an inch.

Russian Locals. — ETcaierinoslav. — A .new
and interesting local is introduced to our no-
tice by Le T'uvbre-
Poste as coming from

this town. We give
an engraving of it,
and would take leave
to call our readers'
attention to the date
1787, which crosses
the centre. It is
that cf the foun-
dation cf the city by
the Empress Catherine II. The letter E in
the middle is the initial of the city's name.
The surrounding inscription is of the usual
purport. This stamp is printed pale yellow-
ish green on white paper, and the value is
facially indicated.

Kadnikoff (Wologda) pos-
sesses the annexed type, value
3 kopecs, and impressed in
blue on white. The emblems,
which have an ambiguous
look about them, require ex-
planation.

Tchern (Tula). — The annexed engraving
represents a stamp first described on p. 98 of
our ninth volume, and
(if which our publishers
have but just received a
specimen. The .imjires-
sion is a rough but plain
one, in indigo on cart-
ridge paper. The two
wheat sheaves may be
supposed to hint at the
fertility of the region in
which this 3 kop. Tchern circulates.

Bogorodsk. — In a letter from Moscow, of
the 15th ult., we have received an entirely
new scries for this local post, which has
already been sufficiently prolific in varieties.
The design is similar to that of the previous
issues, but the oval is smaller, and the fore-
legs of the horse, instead of being brought
forward, arc turned down. In fact, the
horse is represented as prancing, instead of
galloping.

The colours and values we have seen are —

3EMCKAH

^3K.C

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

1 kop.

rose and pale rose.

5 „

pale rose.

5 „

dark blue.

10 „

rose.

10 „

light blue.

It is probable, therefore, that the whole of
the values exist in at least two shades of
colour.

Gekman Empire. — In addition to the post
cards already chronicled, we have to an-
nounce the advent of a new one for Ger-
many, this time bearing an impressed
stamp, which, with the rest of the design,
is lithographed. The stamp is a rectangular
one, of an old-new type, and consists of the
imperial eagle in an oval, broken at each
side by a small circular disk containing the
numeral " |," and inscribed Deutsche reichs-
post in the upper, and the value, ein Jtalber
groschen, in the lower half, the rectangle
being completed by an ornamental frame.
The usual inscription is disposed in three
lines, of which the topmost one is arched.
The border is formed of a leaf pattern,
with rosettes at the corners. The card is
a large one, buff coloured, and the impres-
sion is in brown. The reverse side of it is
plain. There is another card identical with
the above, except in the value, which is
2 kreuzer.

A new envelope has just been issued, the
j groschen, bright lilac, of rather large size,
and specially noticeable from the fact that
it is destitute of any transverse inscription ;
perhaps in consequence of the absence of this
inscription the embossed arms, which it is
scarcely necessary to say are of the latest
fashion, come out in strong relief. This new
value exists on thin blue and white laid en-
velopes. Probably a twin one kreuzer has
also been issued, to keep it company.

Chili. — Our correspondent at Valparaiso,
Mr. L. W. Meyer, has sent us specimens of
the new Chilian post cards, which are now
in use there. The stamp which they bear
has already been engraved, but nothing has
been said of the remaining portions of the
device. The words carta takjeta, in bold
type, extend across the card, and above are
the handsome Chilian arms, — a shield con-
taining a five-pointed star, surmounted by
three feathers (like the Prince of "Wales's

plume). The supporters are, on the left, a
crowned horse, and, on the right, a crowned
condor. The design of the border is the
same as that on our own cards. Mr. Meyer
also sends us specimens of the 5 c. envelopes,
ladies' size, manufactured by Messrs. De La
Rue & Co., which, with the cards, were is-
sued in Valparaiso, on the 22nd November
last. The other envelopes have not yet
made their appearance, nor are they likely to
do so for some time to come, as it seems the
supply sent out was lost. Four boxes of
post cards and envelopes are stated to have
gone down with the steamship Tacora, off
Montevideo, and it is at least probable that
the higher values formed part of the contents.
Mr. Meyer furthermore informs us that an
order for a fresh supply was to be despatched
by the mail which brought his letter. The
special uses of the several envelope values
he gives as follows : the 2 c. for the local
service of Valparaiso and Santiago ; the 5 c.
for general employment ; the 10 c. for let-
ters (by steamer) southwards ; and the 15 c.
for letters (by steamer) northwards.

Mexico. — We are indebted to our old
friend, Mr. W. P. Brown, of New York, for
a sight of the most highly ornamented
postmark we have ever met with. He in-
forms us that the die. was engraved by one
of the officials in San Luis Potosi, for his
own particular use. Mr. Brown received
several single stamps showing portions of
this mark, and at length received a letter
franked by an uncut pair of the current
12 c. blue Mexican, which show the entire
design to perfection. It consists, in fact, of
the Mexican arms, — a boldly cut eagle, with
outspread wings, grasping a serpent in its
mouth. The eagle supports itself on an
elaborate scroll, or ribbon, divided into three
parts, the left inscribed admox su, the centre

BALTERXA DE CORREO, the right DE LA XA ;

between the parts of the ribbon are disposed
some leaves. Above the eagle's head, in a
straight line, and in bold type, is the word
CEREITOS. Tins postmark, which more than
covers the two stamps, is certainly a curiosity
in its way, and the employe who designed it
might with advantage be consulted by his
superiors when next there is question of
issuing a new series of stamps.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Japan. — We are now able, through the
kindness of a correspondent, to chronicle the
whole of the values for the new series of
this country, the one sen of which was
engraved by us last month : —

\ sen

brown.

1 „

indigo-blue.

2 „

orange- vermilion

10 „

yellow-green.

20 „

bright mauve.

30 „

slate-brown.

The three lower values are alike as to the
central device, but differ from each other in
the frame and spandrels. The three higher
denominations increase in size, like the
Bergedorf, the 30 sen nearly attaining the
dimensions of the 5 p. and 10 p. New Granada
of 1869. The branches of central device in
the 10 sen give place to dragons with inter-
twisted tails ; in the 20 sen they are super-
seded by a fancy circle with leaves below,
but reappear larger than ever in the vast
30 sens.

Luxemburg. — The provisional one franc,
formed by surcharging the 37^ c, of which
the preparation was recently announced, has
been in circulation since the commencement
of December, and as no less than 70,000
copies of this stamp have been struck off, we
shall probably have to wait a long while for
the promised new type. The 12 \ c. is
stated to be now printed in carmine.

Sweden. — We have received information
of the issue of two new post cards of the
same type as the first (which is now with-
drawn from circulation) value, respectively,
6 ore lilac and 10 ore carmine ; besides
which we learn from Le Timbre-Foste that
" reply-paid " cards of each value have like-
wise been issued. They differ from the or-
dinary cards only in the possession of an
additional inscription — svaret betaladt.

Wurtemburg. — This country now pos-
sesses a " reply-paid " card, issued on 1st
December, and of which each half bears an
impression from the die of the 1 kr. green.
Le Timbre-Poste speaks of the issue of a 2 kr.
adhesive, orange-yellow, of the known type,
printed on white paper, and line-pierced.

Red River Settlement. — A correspondent
informs us that he has heard of the emission

of stamps for this settlement, and specimens
have been promised to him. We recommend
our Canadian friends to ascertain whether
this report is well founded.

Victoria. — The threepence, hitherto print-
ed in orange, now conies over of a pale
yellow. Our publishers received a snpply l>y
the last mail.

RAMBLES AT HOME AND ABROAD.

BY QUELQU'tJN.

A great struggle is evidently being made by
our continental friends to induce collectors
of postage stamps to become collectors of
fiscal stamps also. Dr. Magnus has for some
time past been working with this view, both
formerly, in the pages of Le Tinibrophile, of
which he was the irresponsible editor, and
now, with redoubled energy, in those of
La Gazette des Timbres, of which he is the
responsible editor. The last edition of
Lallier's postage-stamp album is announced
as "containing 4,621 stamps, of which 3,698
are postage stamps, and 923 fiscal stamps, of
all countries and of all kinds." M. Moens,
in his recent price-list, has catalogued a large
number of fiscal stamps, which evidently
shows that there is a growing demand for
the article on the continent, or so prominent
a position would not have been given to it.

We are glad to believe that the serious
collectors of postage stamps in England
repudiate all idea of foisting into their
collections stamps which properly belong t.>
other and distinct categories. The area of
postage stamp collecting is now very consider-
able. Taking into account varieties dependent
on colour, perforation, paper, and watermarks,
a collection may, with care, patience, and
study, be made to contain at least 10,"' hi
specimens, a field which appears to us to be
ample enough to satisfy most collectors.
Still, if our continental neighbours will
dream of fresh conquests, and are desirous
of extending their collecting to other species
of stamps, let them not, at any rate, en-
deavour, after the plan of M. Lallier, to
incorporate them with the now time-
honoured collection of postage stamps, but
rather let all such stamps be consigned to a
limbo of their own. where the amateurs i I

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

" bung labels and physic stamps " may study
them without distraction.

Atpresent, with the exception of afewcollec-
tions of bill and such like stamps, the collection
of fiscal stamps has made but small progress
in England ; and before anyone attempts to
form a more extended collection, we would
recommend him to study the remarks of Mr.
Pemberton, at page 185 of The Philatelical
Journal. We were delighted to read the
caustic remarks of one of the oldest con-
tributors to this magazine, and one of the
oldest disciples of philately. Of one thing
we maybe sure, that The Philatelical Journal
wdl not advocate fiscal stamp-collecting,
either openly or tacitly ; but we regret to see,
by a remark in the last number of The
'Philatelist, that the editor of that magazine
is half inclined to throw up a straw to see
which way the wind may blow.

We have all been interested of late, in the
consideration of the definition of a postage
stamp. A recent number of La Gazette des
Timbres has given us some definitions of
postage and fiscal stamps, which, while the
definitions of the former are fresh in the
minds of our readers, it may not be wdthout
interest to notice.

The writer of the papers " On the Metho-
dical Formation of Collections of Stamps "
proceeds, after a few words of introduction,
to give his definition of what a stamp is.
He says : "In its general acceptation, a
stamp is an impression or vignette, the object
of which is to represent the payment of a
tax which individuals are bound to pay to the
public treasury in certain cases, or under
certain conditions fixed by law. This tax may
be paid either by way of impost, or by way of
remuneration for a service rendered by the
state."

He then goes on to say that a stamp may
be either fixed — that is to say, it may either
be stamped on the document itself, as in the
case of stamps on deeds, probates of wills,
agreements, &c. — or it may be moveable, like
foreign bill stamps, postage stamps, receipt
stamps, &c. ; and " although, in reality, the
fixed and moveable stamps are destined for
the same purposes, yet they differ in many
respects from each other, and may be con-
sidered as forming two distinct collections,

rather than two branches of the same
collection. Nevertheless," he adds, " we
think that an analytical classification should
not be based upon the material form which
the stamp takes, but on the purpose and
the destination for which the stamp, what-
ever may be its form, has been created."
The author, therefore, proceeds to divide
stamps into two categories, which he sub-
divides into other classes, as follows.

"1st Category. — Fiscal stamps, or stamps
the object of which is the payment of an
impost, comprising : —

" First. — Stamps of dimension.

" Second. — Proportional stamps.

" Third. — Stamps for fixed duties.

" 2nd Category. — Stamps, the object of
which is the payment of a tax representing a
remuneration for a service rendered by the
state, comprising : —

"First. — Postage stamps.

" Second. — Telegraph stamps."

The author, in these hard-and-fast general
definitions, has, we think, kept the French
system of stamps too much before him, and
has not duly weighed the effect they
might have in other countries. We will see
presently how these definitions would affect
a collection of English fiscals ; but before
doing so, we would say a few words as to
his definition of a postage stamp. A postage
stamp is, according to him, "an impression,
the object of which is to represent the
payment of a tax which is considered to
represent in itself the price of the conveyance
of a letter, a conveyance accomplished by
the state, or, in default, by the local adminis-
tration, or by private enterprise."

We suppose that the definition of a
telegraph stamp will be the same as the
above duplex representative definition of a
postage stamp, mutatis mutandis. In many
countries on the continent, not only are
letters and telegraphic messages conveyed
by the state, but the state also charges
itself with the conveyance of individuals on
the railways belonging to and worked by it ;
in fact, for any country where the railways
belong to and are worked by the state, we
can scarcely conceive a better definition of a
railway ticket than the above definition of a
postage stamp, substituting the words " an

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

individual" for "a letter." For ourselves,
if we had to choose between forming a col-
lection of railway history and enterprise —
the path of which has been, in some mea-
sure, marked out by the various forms of
tickets that have been issued since the
opening of the Liverpool and Manchester
line in 1830, to that of the Japan line in
1872 — and a history of the charlatanism of
the United States, as evidenced by the varie-
ties of stamps on all sorts of pills, potions,
powders, and purgatives there vended, we
should infinitely prefer the former, as a
matter, not only of more entertaining, but
also of more instructive study.

We have fostered philately amongst the
young because it teaches them arrange-
ment, order, some history, and no little
geography ; but we cannot help thinking
that, without going into the question of
obsolete railway tickets, the collecting of
which would be requisite, in order to show
the progress of railway enterprise, yet a
collection of actual railway tickets would
teach the fathers some geography that they
did not know before, or had learnt only to
forget.

But to return to the question of the fiscal
stamps, which we will consider under the
three heads above mentioned, the first of
which is the stamps of dimension. These are
stamps impressed on sheets of paper of
various sizes, upon which are transcribed
all deeds relating to dealings with real and
personal property, all proceedings in the
courts of law, such as writs, pleadings, copies
of judgments, &c. They are called stamps
of dimension, because the size of the sheet is
regulated by law, and bears a stamp in
proportion to its size. Thus, in France and
Belgium, a sheet somewhat smaller than a
sheet of foolscap, bears a stamp of about a
franc, and the sheets so stamped are sold to
the public. The document written on this
stamped paper, is, when complete, taken to
the registration-office, where the duties are
paid, and a certificate to that effect is
endorsed on the document. Until it is
registered, it cannot be produced in court,
nor can any legal proceedings be taken upon
it ; besides which it acquires no certain date,
except from the day when it is sent in for

registration. In some of the public ofth • s
in France, the documents delivered from the
office have an adhesive stamp of dimension
affixed to them, which is obliterated iji the
office. From this sketch it will be seen how
entirely the mode of collecting certain stamp
duties in France and Belgium differs from
the system adopted in England.

The second class of fiscal stamps is what
in France are termed proportional stamps,
but in England are generally known as ad
valorem stamps. In France, the only ad
valorem stamps are those on bills of exchange,
which are, as in England, both impressed
and adhesive. But in England, this class of
stamps embraces nearly the whole system of
the collection of duties by the stamp-office
A collection of English fiscals, confined only
to the adhesive stamps of this class, would
be nothing but a shadow and a sham. In.
this class are comprised the adhesive stamps
on foreign bills, the impressed stamps on
inland bills, the stamps on policies, on deed-;
relating to the sale, purchase, mortgage, and
leasing of property, &c, where the stamps
vary in amount, from a penny on bills of
exchange under £5, and life policies under
£10, to thousands of pounds on some
documents.*

The third class of stamps which are em-
ployed for fixed duties calls for but little
remark. The number of such stamps, b >th
adhesive and impressed, is very considerable
in England, but is not numerous in France.
We think, however, that enough lias been
said to make it evident that, to arrive at
anything like perfection in a methodical
collection of fiscal stamps would be hopeless.
Impressed and adhesive must both be col-
lected, or we reduce it to a childish distinction
between gum and no gum.

But besides these stamp-, there is a class
of fiscals, the use of which is not compulsory,
which are neither flesh nor fowl, and cannot
be brought under any of the before-mentioned
heads, and in which there is no question of
gum or no gum. These have been partially
treated of by Dr. Magnus, in a paper on
" American Private Stamps," profusely il-

* The probates of the wills of Mr. Brassey and Mr.
Loder were lately stamped with stamps to the amount of
£10,000.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

lustrated by some of the latest triumphs of
the reproductive art invented by, and the
exclusive property of, La Gazette des Timbres
(S. Gr. D. Gr.), reminding us, in the effect
produced, of the rubbings of monumental
brasses. "We will notice these in our next
" ramble."

THE STRAW THAT SHOWS WHICH
WAY THE WIND BLOWS.

BY DON MARIANO PARDO DE FIGUEROA.

Trifling things, events which pass almost
unperceived in the daily life of nations, fre-
quently suffice to give an exact idea of the
character of a people.

On what part of the envelope should the
postage stamp be put ? I believe the question
has been already resolved ; stamped enve-
lopes, post cards, journal wrappers, &c, bear
the stamp impressed in the upper right angle,
—an arrangement which facilitates the ob-
literation and sundry other postal operations.
Let us see now what is the law in Spain on
this subject.

The official regulation (1st December,
1849), treating of the employment of the
stamps which were to be issued on the 1st
January, 1850, ordains their apposition to
the upper part of the envelope, and the
Geographical Chart, published by the postal
department in 1865, lays down that the
stamps are to be placed at the upper right
angle. Don Firmin Caballero, one of the
most noted of Spanish writers, in his cu-
rious articles, entitled Epistolary Correspond-
ence (1863-5), recommends his readers never
to put the stamp on the flap of the envelope
on account of the inconvenience they would
thereby cause to the postal employes ; and
that excellent work, The Spanish Postal
Pamphlet (1868), which was specially recom-
mended by the government, repeats this good
advice, and adds that the stamp should be
fixed in the upper right corner. The same
opinion is found in the journal called The
Spajiish Postal Indicator (1871). The Post-
office even went the length of issuing the
following special notice on the subject.

Fostal Depautment. — The serious inconvenience
which maybe occasioned by the habit of attaching stamps
to the flaps of envelopes, or otherwise, so that they cannot
be easily perceived by the postal employes, renders it ne-

cessary for the postmaster-general formally to request
that stamps on all letters and packets be in future placed
on the same side as the address. — Madrid, 26th Feb., 1869.
— The Postmaster-general, Eusebio Asquerino.

And yet it is impossible to overcome the
confirmed obstinacy of the inhabitants of this
veritable Africa (if the Africans will not be
offended at my so calling it), which com-
mences with the Pyrenees. Each hidalgo
sticks the stamps on his letters just where he
pleases. The law, even when it favours him,
is to the Spaniard a dead letter. The people
which destroys itself simply for the mere
pleasure of destroying, and disobeys the law
for the mere pleasure of disobeying, is indeed
hard to understand and almost impossible to
govern. The English are the antitheses of
my compatriots. In England, as in all other
civilised countries, people stick the stamp in
the allotted place, which suits the conveni-
ence both of the writer of the letter and of
the postal official whose work it is to pass it
through the post. The English, with their
usual good sense, have made a law of polite-
ness of the matter, and thus we find it stated
in that charming work Mixing in Society,
that " the stamp should be placed exactly
in the right-hand corner of the envelope ; it
must neither be upside down nor slanting,
nor in any way carelessly affixed. Negligence
in these matters evinces a rudeness to the
person to whom you write, as showing that
you think anything will do."

CORRESPONDENCE.

AN INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE ASSOCIATION.
To the Editor of " The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."
Dear Sin, — As I know that you take an interest in the
extension of collecting, and try to aid collectors, I will
ask you if you could not find some plan for forming a sort
of exchange society, by which collectors might be en-
abled to get rid of their duplicates, and obtain in exchange
for them specimens which they do not possess. I know-
that in this town there are many persons (and I am one
of the number) who have been on the verge of giving up
collecting on account of the difficulty of procuring new
stamps without always buying them If an international
society (I suppose an Internationale of this sort would be
allowed in France) were established between English and
French collectors, many colonial stamps might be sent
over from this country which are comparatively rare in
France, and other stamps wanted by English collectors
sent back in exchange. I know that this scheme is
almost chimerical, and that very great difficulties would
have to be encountered, but still, after seeing how hope-
ful is the state of afl'airs at present, in your '* Events of
the Year," and how much has been done to cnc3urage and
promote philately by the aid of your paper and other

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE

magazines, I trust that something of the sort may be
established some day.

Trusting that I have not taken up too much of your
valuable space with this long letter,
I remain,

Tours truly,
Torquay. B. C. del C.

IN REmv JAPANESE STAMPS.— A CORRECTION.
To the Editor of "Tub Stamp-Collector's Magazine."
Sih, — Allow me to correct a misstatement in your last
issue. The circular disk in the top centre of the Japanese
stamp is not the sun, but a chrysanthemum flower, which
is the well-known crest of the emperor. The corners are
the cherry flowers. The inscription in the centre, " Yu
bin kitte," means postage stamp, literally post communi-
cation ticket. Tempo is not, and never was, a unit of
value. It is the name of the cycle or certain number of
years during which the coin of the value of 100, or rather
96, tnorts was first issued. The inscriptions on the old
ones were not expressed in tempos, but in mons.
I am, Sir,

Yours truly,
London, N. W. * JAPONICUS.

A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT.

To the Editor of "The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."
Dear Sir, — I have with great pleasure read over the
opening address of the Xlth volume of The Stamp-Col-
lector's Magazine, and I never before experienced greater
satisfaction. I have been a collector of foreign stamps
for seven years, and for two years of that time I only ob-
tained the twenty-four stamps given in the magazine;
and 1 think had it not been for the magazine coming in
month after month I should have forgotten my album al-
together ; whereas I now possess a collection of about
2000 varieties, in a modern album, which is admired even by
people who despise stamps and stamp-collectors; and the
possession of this album is entirely due to the perusal of
The Stamp-Collector's Magazine. Irrespectively of the
geography and history I have learned from -stamps, the
arrangement of them has taught me the value of method
and neatness, so that these poor world-despised little bits
of coloured paper are no mean agents in a work towards
which all education is directed. Tlic Stamp-Collector's
Magazine has, in my case, been the immediate cause of
m)- interest in stamps, and it therefore possesses an in-
trinsic value, in my judgment, which it can never lose.
I leel that I am but doing my duty in acknowledging the
debt I owe to your magazine; and at the same time allow
me to congratulate you upon the highly improved
appearance of your new dress, not forgetting the value of
the jewel in the beauty of the setting. Returning the
compliments of the season,
I am, fcjir,

Tours faithfully,

W. M. COLLES, JUN.
The Vicarage, Melton Hfoubray.

NOTES AND QUERIES.
To the Editor o/" The Stamf-Collectou's Magazine."
Dear Sir, — The following are a few notes recorded
while reading your magazine, in the expectation that an
abler pen than mine would direct attention to the several
points. Not having seen any notice of these particulars,
1 venture to send my memoranda to you.

1. England. — Post cards ; two sizes ; smaller, '2nd
issue? I purchased on October 1, 1S70, at our local post-
office, one of the large size, but I also received, by //"••/,
a card on that day, of the small size. Tin1 stamp is
obliterated, oct. 1, 1870. This seems to point to a
simultaneous emission of two sizes.

It has been recorded that the essay of the English
sixpenny has been seen obliterated, and the observer
notes it. as showing that the stamp has passed the post.*
I have a specimen of the green essay, the obliteration
unreadable. I can only make out sky and 0. I have
also a specimen of the violet essay, bearing the identical
obliteration recorded as on the green— am, ai\ 9, 1856.
I obtained my specimen direct from the general post-
office some years ago, and suggest that the obliteration
was applied as an experiment, before deciding the colour,
and that the stamp in question never franked a letter.
In further proof, the well-known numbered obliterating
stamp was in use when the small sixpenny stamp un-
issued.

While on the subject of our English stamps, I would
inquire why the bistre sixpenny has been issued with the
corner letters white on colour, if it be the intention of the
authorities to print the whole issue witli the letters colour
on white ?

2. France. — The writer in the December number of
The Stamp- Collector's Magazine seems to question the
letters ''5 fr." on the French stamp of that value being
of a different colour to the stamps. My specimen shows
the difference in tint most distinctly, the letters being a
decided blue-violet.

3. Victoria. — I have not seen it noticed that the blue
shilling Victoria has come over perforated to the size of
the five-shilling stamp ; this must show a rearrangement
of the dies in the frame, resulting in their being placed
further apart, to allow of this perforation.

4. Tasmania. — Errors of perforation seem numberless.
I possess a specimen of the Id. rose, new issue, perforated
not only in the right place, but also across the face of Her
gracious Majesty.

5. Holland. — The stamps of the Netherlands would
puzzle any student of perforations. If some of the foreign
philatelist's would explain the cause of these eccentricities
they would confer a booii on many a puzzled collector.
Not only do the stamps vary in tic size of the perfo-
rations (I have copies of the 5 cenjts perforated 12, 13, 14,
14 J, respectively), but the lines of perforation vary in
their distance apart. I have three stamp- united, show-
ing the centre stamp 2 1 - lot li centimetres wide ; the others
only 1 8-10ths, a difference quite perceptible.

6. France and Austria. — I should be glad if some
authority in printing would explain the phenomenon of
the lined disk, seen in the 30 centime French "empire,"
and also in the o kreuzer Austria.

I remain. Sir,

Tours, &c,
Monmouthshire. OSK.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPOXDKNTS.

F. S., Copenhagen. — Our publishers have handed us
your letter to them of the 10th ult., containing a set of
the new Iceland stamps, for communication of which we
also are indebted to you.

T. — "With reference to your letter respecting certain
dealers in forgeries, we should be glad if you would send
us for inspection the counterfeits you mention, as the
prices at which some of them are offered are quite high
enough for genuine stamps.

* See The Philatelist, December, 1872, p. 169.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

PAPERS FOR BEGINNERS.— No. XXVI.

BY OVERY TAYLOR.

EUROPE.

dcvmani).

Under the above heading inight be included,
after Lallier's fashion, the emissions of all
the states, great and small, which go to form
the Fatherland ; but such an arrangement
would, in reality, be a deviation fi'om the
alphabetical order adopted in these papers,
and, in philatelic parlance, the issues of
Germany are understood to be those of the
Thurn and Taxis" office, the North German
Confederation, and the present German Em-
pire. Let us, then, confine our attention to
these.

THE THURN AND TAXIS OFFICE.

To many young collectors the significa-
tion of the words Thurn and Taxis must be
by no means clear. Ten years ago, in the
first number of The Stamp-Collector' s Maga-
zine, one of the earliest and most accurate
of philatelic writers, Mr. Mount Brown,
explained the meaning of this strange title ;
and very recently, in the pages of a contem-
porary, an abridgement of Mr. Mount
Brown's article was published, but, as in
these elementary papers, it is my duty to
begin at the beginning, I need offer no
apology for repeating the information already
given respecting the origin of the Thurn and
Taxis post-office.

Thurn and Taxis is not the name of a
place, but of a family, whose ancestors'were
first heard of in Italy, as the della Torres,
Lords of Yalsassina ; eight of the della
Torres were, in succession, lords of Milan ;
the last of the eight, Guido the Rich, perished
in a feud with the Visconti, and one of his
sons, Lamoral I., settled in the territory of
Bergamo, and took from the mountain Tasso
(one of his possessions there) the name del
Tasso, and afterwards de Tassis. His great-
grandson inherited the possessions of his
predecessors, united their titles, and was
known as Roger I. of Thurn and Taxis.
This personage was knighted by the emperor,
Frederick III., in 1-150, and in ibhe latter half

of the century founded the fame of his
house by the establishment of a post in the
Tyrol. This is all we know of Count
Roger I. j but it is sufficient to warrant our
taking some interest in this half-forgotten
German prince, who deserves to be ranked
with Louis XL as one of the earliest postal
benefactors. He must have known how to
manage the post he established ; for instead
of its dying out, like many another knightly
venture, it proved to be the initial step
towards the foundation of a service whose
functions only ceased with the Prusso-
Austrian war of 1866. So successful was
the conduct of his enterprise, that, in 1516,
his son — on whom Roger's mantle seems to
have descended — was charged by Maxi-
milian I. to form a post from Brussels to
Vienna, — no mean undertaking in those
days. The subsequent progress of the
Thurn and Taxis post is best described in
Mr. Mount Brown's own words : —

" In 1522, on account of the war with the
Turks, an imperial post was established
from Nuremberg to Vienna, which ceased
on the return of peace. On this Charles V.
ordered Leonhard, Count of Thurn and
Taxis, to establish a permanent post, which
went from the Netherlands, through Treves,
Spires, Wurtemburg, Augsburg, and the
Tyrol to Italy. In 1543 he created the
Count Oberpostmeister of the German empire.
About the end of the sixteenth century, the
Thurn and Taxis post, shaken by disturbances
in the Netherlands, and oppressed by debt,
fell into disuse, but rose again under the
favour of the Emperor Rudolf II. But the
Palatinate, Wurtemburg, Saxony, Branden-
berg, Mecklenburg, and other states of the
empire, formerly included under Thurn and
Taxis, had in the meantime established posts
in their own states, and ref nsed to recognise
the validity of the office. Upon this,
Lamoral, Count of Thurn and Taxis, was
raised to the rank of Baron of the Empire,
and received the imperial post in fee for
himself and male heirs, which was subse-
quently extended to his female descendants.
Various states have at times shaken off or
purchased the monopoly; thus, Austria,
Prussia, Bavaria, Hanover, Saxony, Union,
Oldenburg, Luxemburg, &c, have now their

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

own postal arrangements.* But the Thurn
and Taxis family still possesses, as a fief of
the empire, the posts in Nassau, Saxe-
Weimar, Schwarzburg, Rudolstadt, &c, &c.
In the free cities of Hamburg-, Lubeck, and
Bremen, they possess some of the posts, but
the general direction of the Tlmrn and Taxis
office has had its seat since 1811, at Frank-
fort-on-the-Maine, where the Thurn and
Taxis posts are exclusively used."

Prom this we see that the Thurn and
Taxis post survived, though with diminished
importance, the empire under which it was
created. We find, moreover, that, until a
few months ago, a post conducted, not by the
state, but by a private family for its own per-
sonal benefit, existed in the heart of Germany,
as one of the recognised means of inter-
national communication ; and the two unpre-
tentious series of Thurn and Taxis stamps
carry us back, by their associations, past
locomotives and mail-coaches, to the old
feudal times, and the primitive post-houses
and runners of a by-gone age.

The list of the states served by the Thurn
and Taxis office is as follows: — ■

Northern States (unit of currency, the
thaler) — Electorate of Hesse, the Grand
Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, the Principalities
of Schwarzbourg-Sondershausen, Reuss, and
Lippe, the free cities of Bremen, Hamburg,
and Lubeck.

Southern States (unit of currency, the
florin) — Grand Duchy of Hesse, the Princi-
palities of Hohenzollern, the Grand Duchies
of Nassau, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Cobourg,
the principality of Schwarzbourg-Rudol-
stadt, the Landgraviate of'Hesse-Hombourg,
and the free town of Frankfort.

The stamps issued for the two sections
were all prepared at Frankfort, and, although
M. Berger-Levranlt gives the date of emissii m
of the first groschen (or Northern) series as
1852, and that of the hreuzer (or Southern)
series as 1850, I am inclined to believe that
both were issued together in 1852, everything
being in favour of a simultaneous emission.
These stamps, like those of Baden and
Wurtemburg, were issued pursuant to the
provisions, or as a consequence of, the postal

* These states liberated themselves about the time of
the restoration of Louis XVIII. to the French tin le.

convention of the 6th of April, 1850, to which
the Thurn and Taxis office was a party.
The inscription, DEUTSCH-OESTR. P0STV3 REIN
(or German-Austrian Postal Union), which
is found on all the Thurn and Taxis stamps
(on the right-hand side), refers to this con-
vention, whereby the postal arrangements
over a great portion of central Europe were
regulated, and uniform rates established.

The first series were printed in black ink,
and were composed of the following values
and colours : —

Northern States.

silber c^roschen red-brown

1
3

(1858) flesh.

green.

,, light blue.

,, dark ,,

„ rose.

,, yellow.

Southern States.

1 kreuzer qrcen.

3 ,, light blue.

3 „ dark „

6 ,, ruse.

9 „ yellow.

The Northern issue shows a larger number
of stamps, on account of the fractional de-
nominations, which have no equivalent in the
Southern currency. It will be observed that
there is complete identity of colour in flic
corresponding values of the two series, and
even of shade in the blue stamps. The two
varieties of the blue are very distinct, have
always been admitted, and seeing that fchey
occur equally in both series, it is hardly likely
that they were the 1'esult of accident. Pro-
bably the dark shade was the firsi issued— in
former years it was certainly a shade rarer
than its companion — and it being found that
the postmarks did not show up clearly, it was
superseded by the light blue.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

The designs are neatly and even finely en-
graved, but are not remarkable for their
originality. A numeral of value in the
centre of a square (for the groschen series),
and of a circle (for the Icreuzer series), suf-
ficed, in the opinion of the Frankfort officials,
for use, and a special ground pattern for
each value for ornament. These designs re-
mained current to the last, without any
alteration.

In 1859 a second edition of them made its
appearance, distinguished from the first by
being printed in colour on white paper, and
also by the addition of two new values to
each set. The colours read as follows : — •

Northern Stales.

I s.gr. red.

| ,, sea-green.

1 ,, pale blue.

2 ,, rose.

3 ,, brown.
5 ,, lilac.

10 ,, vermilion.

y JF.

imavlx. '."•
„

pi
111

ffi

South

im States.

1 kr

light green

3 „

blue.

6 „

rose.

9 „

yellow.

15 „

lilac.

30 „

vermilion.

The | s.gr. is not represented in this set,
and there is one exception also to the general
similarity of colour in the corresponding
values. Whilst the 3 s. gr. is in brown (the
colour about that time adopted by various
states in the postal union), the 9 kr. con-
tinues in its old shade, yellow.

The high-value stamps are of considerable
merit, and may be said to be as pretty as
stamps with numeral in centre can be. The
two Northern values show the fisrure in the

1864.
1863.

4
1
3

1862.
1864.
1863.

2
1

2
3

centre of a "tesselated" square, as it has
not inaptly been termed; and the 15 kr. and
30 kr. have the figure on a similar ground,
within a circular inscribed scroll. Such of
my readers, however, as may not possess
specimens, can judge for themselves from
the annexed representations.

In 1862-4 a fresh series saw the light, cha-
racterised by an interchange of colour, and
printed, like the preceding, in colour on
white.

Northern States.
s.gr. black.

green.

orange.

rose.

blue.

bistre & yellowish bistre.

Southern States.

1862. 3 kr. rose.

,, 6 „ blue (shades).

,, 9 ,, bistre (shades).

No further change took place in the colours,
but in 1865 all the values of both sets, except
the two highest in each set, viz.: —

k-g1- 45 35 21 11 ") °-

kr. 1, 3, 6, 9.

were issued line-pierced, and the emission is
marked by some accidental differences in
shade. Subsequently, the same values were
issued perforated, or rather pierced, on a line
of colour. The two highest values in gros-
chen appeared piques, and also pierced in
parallel lines, in 1866 ; the 15 kr. and 30
kr. appeared at the same time pierced in
parallel lines. We believe, however, this
was an unofficial piquage. These differences
in perforation may only perplex the begin-
ner, and copies of them are not now easily
met with.

ENVELOPES.

Only one series, properly so called, has
been issued for each of the
two groups of states. The
silber-groschen set and the
kreuzer set appeared simul-
taneously on the 21st Sep-
tember, 1861. The values
then issued were the follow-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Northern States.

s. gr.

orange

■>i

rose.

blue.

stone.

Southern

States.

kr.

yellow.

•6

rose.

blue.

stone.

Each series shows the numeral of value on
a plain ground, enclosed in an engine-turned
pattern, inscribed frame; but
the Southern set has this
border enclosed in an exterior
octagonal frame. The co-
lours of the corresponding
values, with the exception of
the two lowest, are identical.
Later on, at the close of the
year 1865, an additional value was added to
each set, viz. : —

i S-Sr-

black.

| 1 kr.

green.

Three different supplies, or, as they may
be termed, editions, of these series were
printed off — the first two at Berlin, the last,
on the occasion of the issue of the above-
mentioned low values at Frankfort.

The first edition has the minute diagonal
inscription above the impi'essed stamp — eix
halber (ein, zwei, or drei, as the case may

be) SILBER GR0SCHE5T POST-COTJVERT — printed
in lilac. In the second edition the inscrip-
tions are of the same colours as the embossed
stamps. The third edition is distinguishable
from the second only by its comparatively
imperfect execution. The two former edi-
tions should be collected even by beginners,
but the last hardly comes within their scope.

It now only remains to state that at the
close of the war of 1866 a large portion of
the country served by the Thurn and Taxis
post-office became iucorpoi*ated with Prussia.
Arrangements were made for the purchase of
the remaining privileges of the Prince of
Thurn and Taxis, and on the 1st of January,
1867, this monopoly ceased to exist, and was

afterwards merged in the North German
Postal Confederation.*

It is worthy of note that, unlike many of
the obsolete German stamps, those of Thurn
and Taxis have not been sold as remainders,
and that, consequently, unused copies have
not submitted to that depreciation of value
which has made itself felt in respect of the
Brunswick and Saxony emissions.

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

The Philatelist for February, is, in Baconian
phrase, a full number. The articles it
contains are all instructive and worthy of
careful perusal. The list of "Recent and
Undescribed Emissions " opens with engrav-
ings of the new Japanese stamps, and a
description of them, which in all respects bat
one is perfectly accurate. The flaw consists
in the statement that the increase in size
beg'ins with the two sen. In fact this value is
of the same dimensions as its companions —
the half sen and one sen.

The regulations which govern the impres-
sion of the embossed stamp on private post-
cards are worth quoting. They are as fol-
lows : —

(1.) The cards must be white, — i.e., not tinted in any-
way .

(2.) They must be of the same dimensions as the offi-
cial post card,— viz., 4f by 2| inches.

(3.) They must not be thinner than the official posl
card, — viz , 120 to the inch, — nor thicker than the tele-
graph card, — viz., 60 to the inch.

(4.) The words post card, and the aduukss only to
be WJiTTTEN on this side, roust be printed on the face,
as on tin- official post card ; but there must be nothing
else (the address excepted) printed, written, or otherwise
impressed upon the face of the card.

(5.) All cards must be sent in with evenly cut edges.

(ii.) At the right-hand upper corner of the face of the
card, a space measuring l.T inches from the top fdge of
the card, and 1 inch from the side, must be left for the
stamp; ami this space must be left free from print, both
on the face and the underside.

A reprinted article from The Philat lical

Journal, on the rogues who trade in
forged stamps, deserves to be crenerally
read. It is only by constant and unflinching
exposure of the tribe that good results can
be obtained. In the correspondence columns
is a letter from "A Victim" of a German
swindler — Mr. Ernest Stoltze, jun., of Bruns-
wick. The writer received, one fine morning,

*'lhe Philatelist, vol. vi. p. 102.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

a packet, via Hamburg and London, the car-
riage of which amounted to eight shillings and
eigldpence. "I was from home at the time,"
he observes, "or J would not have received
the parcel. No letter or advice of any kind
had, or has, come to hand respecting it. The
parcel weighed half-a-pound exactly, and con-
tained two sheets entire of the 1 gr. crimson
Brunswick adhesive stamps (1865), two
cancelled money-order postal cards (Brans-
wick), and two price circulars ; the rest was
— coarse brown paper." To this communi-
cation the editor of The Philatelist appends
the following instructive foot-note : —

We opine that the ingenious swindler above mentioned,
will not gain much profit by the exercise of his wits.
One of his intended victims, residing in Town, im-
mediately on receipt of his eight-and-sixpenny worth of
rubbish, proceeded to the carriers' office whence it came ;
and, under threat of appealing to the authorities, not
only obtained the refundment of his money, but succeeded
in preventing the transmission of forty or fifty parcels of the
same nature to different parties in England. It seems the
scamp had agreed with the German post-office to receive
six shillings therefrom for each packet ; so that, if one
half of them had been taken in (like the recipient's) he
would have made a tolerable hit. As it is, however, the
German authorities are taking up the matter, and doubt-
less, ere this sees the light, the friendly correspondent of
British philatelists will be provided with an apartment at
the public expense.

In further continuation of the history of
Mr. Stoltze we may mention, on the authority
of the Brief tnarleeii-Anzeiger, that he recently
made his appearance on the Hamburg stamp
exchange, and, being in debt to most of the
members, they issued a very summary writ
of execution, and after a tumultuous scene,
he was kicked out of the room. Exit Stoltze
with a crest-fallen look by no means counter-
feited.

■ Among the remaining contents of our
Brighton contemporary, we must not omit to
mention a supplementary article on the en-
velopes of Germany, by " A Parisian Collec-
tor," giving an account of the emissions of
the North German Confederation ; and an-
■ other instalment of the invaluable " Spud
Papers," by Mr. Pemberton, containing an
analysis of a very careful forgery of the
Danish 2 k.b.s. blue, of 1851. The specimen
which accompanies the description is heavily
postmarked, and therefore more liable to
deceive. The most prominent distinctive
points in this new forgery are: (1) the
absence of any dot after the word post (the

genuine stamp showing a broad oblong mark
for a period) ; (2) the utter absence of the
pale brown fancy pattern, which in the genu-
ine stamp usually covers the whole surface
of the paper; and (3) the absence of the
crown watermark.

We notice that, at the last meeting of the
Philatelic Society, the abnormal New Zealand
(Queen's head placed betiveen the shoulders)
was shown by its fortunate possessor; but
the reporter omits to state what opinion was
expressed respecting it by the members
present.

The Canadian Philatelist. — The fourth
number of this excellent publication is before
us. We have read it through, and are much
pleased with the matter, style, and arrange-
ment. The number opens with the continu-
ation of a useful article on local stamps, in
which the issues of Denmark, Egypt, Fin-
land, and the Fins are treated of. In a pre-
vious chapter of this article the true character
of the so-called Canadian locals of Bancroft,
Ker, &c, was demonstrated. In the current
instalment the information given respecting
the Danish and other stamps is thoroughly
accurate, and has evidently been compiled
with care. If we must object to anything in
it, it is to the inclusion of the Danish railway
stamps, which are certainly not postals.
The article on "Newly-issued Stamps" is not
a mere reprint of our Own or our contempo-
raries' descriptions, such as we frequently
come across in the American journalettes, but
an original and fairly written paper, in which
we notice only two errors ; the Wissiegonsk
stamps are ascribed to Weissenburg, and the
issue for Iceland is quoted from the Brussels
paper as for Island, the editor being un-
certain to what group of isles the French
name referred. The mistake was a pardon-
able one. The " Reviews " which follow are
characterised by a spirit of courtesy, and the
number closes with a paper reprinted from
The Stamp-Collector's Magazine, of 1865, en-
titled "A Clint with Juvenile Collectors,"
and containing advice which is as useful now
as it was on the day it was written.

Le Timhre-Poste. — The greater portion of
the February number is taken up with the
chronicle. This is followed by a paragraph
treating of the English postal statistics lor

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

1871-2, to which in turn succeeds an article
on the Chilian cards and envelopes, contain-
ing absolutely no new information. Under
the heading, " The Surcharged 10 Centimes
French Republic," the editor describes a
curious abortion, to which reference is made
in another part of our present number.
" Apropos of the New Caledonian Stamps "
is the title of a short article in which proof is
given that the New Caledonian stamps were
issued gummed. The information it con-
tains is worth quoting, more especially as it
comes from a gentleman whose official
position is a guarantee of its correctness.

About the end of 1862, I think (writes M. Moens' cor-
respondent), the Postmaster-general of Algeria addressed
a report to the central office, of which the following is the
resume: — The regimental baggage-masters collect the
letters which the soldiers in distant localities write to their
friends in France. Among the letters which one of these
baggage-masters delivered to a post-office, there happened
to be one hearing two 10 c. New Caledonian stamps. The
postmaster, thinking that the stamps were false, caused
inquiry to be made. The sender was found, and was
called before the military commandant. He declared that
having served in the Marines, and been on duty in New
Caledonia, he had bought a sheet at the Porte-de-France
post-office to prepay his letters for France as far as Syd-
ney, thence to be carried by the English packet-boat, "lie
showed this sheet which already lacked some stamps. It
was retained and sent to the administration at Paris, in
order that explanations might be obtained. Specimens
were cut from this sheet from time to time, and sent to
the foreign post-offices which requested to be furnished
with copies of the New Caledonian stamp. The sheet
was quite used up some time since. Since my return to
Paris I have often had the opportunity of seeing this
sheet ; it was in tine condition and well "gummed.

The number is completed by some remarks
on an obliterated French stamp in the pos-
session of "A Parisian Collector," which we
defer discussing for the present.

THE INELIGIBLE CLASSES.

The January number of La Gazette des
Timbres contains the conclusion of a very in-
structive article, entitled "Notes on the Me-
thodical Formation of Collections of Stamps."
The writer gives the following list of designs
or stamps which ought not to receive place
in a postage-stamp album : —

1. Vignettes, at first considered by error
as stamps (e. g., the Austrian complemen-
taries). These should be definitively ex-
cluded.

2. Charity fair stamps and other analo-
gous issues, which are not stamps at all in

the proper acceptation of the word, and can
only be regarded as impressions admissible
among a collection of engravings, lithogra] >lis,
or curiosities, but not into a timbrological
collection raisonnee.

3. Administrative formula?, used in certain
post-offices, such as the round scalloped seal
of Bremen, and the Bavarian instruction
stamps.

4. Certain labels which have been wrongly
classed as postage stamps, and are in reality
adhesive fiscals (e.g., the Austrian and Loni-
bar do- Venetian journal stamps (arms square),
the journal stamps of Parma (6 and 9 cent.),
and the French journal stamps).

5. Stamps, which, like the preceding, are
fiscal, and which, moreover, instead (if being
adhesive, are fixed — i.e., struck on the paper
on which their presence denotes the payment
of a certain sum — (e. ij., the Fogli Esteri of
Sardinia, and the Bollo Straordinariu of Tus-
cany).

6. Fancy envelopes, save only those having
a direct and well-ascertained connection with
ji isi age-stamp history.

7. Stamps of private offices, which repre-
sent not a postal service effected by private
enterprise in default of the state, but a
service performed by an individual exclusive-
ly for his own benefit, and corresponding to
the state postal service, — (e. g., the pretended
Rigi-Kulm and Rigi-Scheideck stamps, &c.)

8. The delivery stamps (timbres de j adage )
issued by sundry companies. These stamps
no doubt present a great analogy to those is-
sued by private persons who undertake the
transmission of letters, still (says the writer
from whom we quote), we think that,
strictly speaking, a stamp is an official docu-
ment created by the state, and it is only on
exceptional grounds that the acceptance of
one issued by private persons, instead of the
state, for the* performance of an analogous
service, can be permitted, and, in short, that
the exception should be limited as closely as
possible. The delivery stamps have not the
same character, and in any event should form
a special subdivision.

Lastly, the able writer of the foregoing re-
marks concludes against the admission of
official frank stamps (such as the Spanish,
the German field-post envelopes, etc.), on the

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

ground which, has already been taken in this
magazine, that they represent not the pay-
ment of, but exemption from, a charge. The
writer does not expressly allude to the adhe-
sive official and service stamps, but they are
included by implication, — the same argu-
ments applying to them as to the impressed
stamps.

Of the stamps placed in the above index
expurgatorius those comprised in the articles
]S"os. 1, 2, 3, and 6 most certainly merit ex-
clusion. Impressions which are in no sense
of the word postage stamps are completely out
of court, and should be pitilessly discarded.
As to the class referred to in article ~No. 4,
there is something to be said in favour, at
least, of the Austrians. Stamps which repre-
sent a so-called tax on foreign journals com-
ing into the country, and are obliterated in
the post-office, are very much like postage
stamps. The idea of taxing journals just as
other imported commodities are taxed is a
droll one when fairly considered. The charge
which the Austrian stamps represent may be
called a tax, but in its essence it is simply so
much extra postage ; in other words, the
Austrian post-office claims a higher rate for
the transport of foreign than it does for
home newspapers. Philatelists, looking* at
the stamps in their true light, continue to
collect them, and rightly so in our opinion.
The French blue and rose 2 c. journal stamps
are admitted by the writer in La Gazette to
have a double character, but he argues that
the fiscal tax being their principal object, and
the postal tax an accessory one, they should
be ranged with the fiscal emissions. This is
matter of opinion, and we should be inclined
to leave the question of their dominant attri-
bute an open one.

With regard to class 5, our author is, we
think, right, after all, in relegating it to the
fiscals. Impressed journal stamps require
special certificates of character to entitle them
to admission into postage-stamp collections.
As to the Rigi and similar stamps which are
included in article 7, without discussing their
bond-fide employment, we confess we don't see
that the reasons advanced warrant their ex-
clusion. They are condemned because they
represent un service exclnsivement individuel
cjrrespondant au service postal de VEtat. We

quote the original text, lest in Our translation
we may have unwittingly wandered from
the true meaning, for which, in fact, we had
to grope. To qualify a local stamp for admis-
sion it must, according to the writer in La
Gazette, be issued for use along a postal route
(lirpia postale) which in default of the state is
served by a private office. But it seems to
us that as a question of principle it matters
little whether one of the termini of a given
route be a small town or a large establishment
such as the one at Bigi-Kaltbad ; and if ob-
jection be taken to the Rigi stamps it should
rather be because they belong to the class men-
tioned in article ~No. 8 of the above list of ex-
ceptions as being, in fact, delivery stamps,
which represent the cost of carrying letters to
or bringing them from the post-office. We
certainly take objection to the rule, that of
necessity the private office must replace the
state ; for it may well happen that, for in-
stance, a private steamship company may run
its vessels, and carry letters prepaid by its
own stamps, between ports to which there is
no government service whatever, and it would
be hard to deny to such emissions, if duly
accredited, the character of bond-fide postage
stamps.

In article 8 the French essayist establishes
a justifiable distinction between local stamps
issued by private offices — which, as far as they
go, entirely replace the state, their operations
embracing the collection, transport, and de-
livery of the letters confided to their care —
and stamps issued by offices whose proprie-
tors are only a step higher than street com-
missionaires, who, in fact, confine themselves
to collecting their customers' letters and
carrying them to the nearest post-office, and
bringing back from the post-office the corres-
pondence adddressed to their custoniers.
The usefulness of such intermediate agents
in large towns is easily perceptible, but it is
none the less true that their postal functions
are of the most elementary character, and
the stamps they may issue ostensibly for the
prepayment of their charges are far from
being entitled to equal consideration with
those of local posts proper.

We have dwelt, perhaps, too long already
on the interesting "Note" under review, yet
cannot take leave of it without noticins,- the

TTTE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

writer's argument in favour of the formation
of collections with uuobliterated specimens
only. "The stamp," he reasons, "being, in
fact, a kind of paper-money issued by the
state for a public service, ought to figure in
a collection such as it was fabricated and
put in circulation by the state. Just as in
numismatical collections those specimens of
cuius or medals, both ancient and modern, are
most sought after, which have best preserved
the freshness of their impression, their original
diameter, and their primitive weight, so also
should the stamp be collected such as it was
issued, with all its particularities of gum, per-
foration, &c." On the other hand it may be
argued, that whilst a coin submits to no
official change during its circulation, but re-
mains legal tender until it is withdrawn, a

stamp is issued for a given purpose — that of
prepaying a letter or journal — and its" exist-
ence, so to speak, culminates with the appo-
sition of the postmark. It is not, except by
favour, a kind of paper-money ; although of
value it is not of use untd it is attached to a
letter, and that letter is dropped into the
post-office box. The defender of obliterated
stamps may therefore urge that it is prefer-
able to collect a stamp which lias performed
its intended service, rather than one which
is merely capable of performing it. As far as
argument goes we think the advocates of
used stamps stand on quite as good ground
as their opponents. For our part we should
never object on principle to a used stamp,
and equally on principle we most certainly
should not object to an unused one.

irannrjvriiP/vv'o-v' •_

♦^rcHLnj

NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED
STAMPS.

Japan. — We gave last month a description of
all the values of the new series, accompanied
by a list of the colours.
We are now in a posi-
tion to give engravings
of all the denominations
K except the 10 sen. Of
1,3 the six values the 20
sen is probably that
which will be consider-
ed the most artistically
designed.

The least adept in reading the Japanese
numerals will find no difficulty in making
out the signs which indicate the value of these
stamps, except perhaps those which appear
on the \ sen. The one sen has a single hori-
zontal bar, signifying 1, on the white space
in each of the side borders ; the 2 sen

has two horizontal bars in the same place ;
the 10 sens has a cross, standing for
10 ; the 20 sens has the cross and two
horizontal strokes above ; and the 30 sens
a cross, and three strokes above. All
the stamps are irregularly perforated, and
printed in colour on a thin yellowish -white
paper. Some details respecting the flowers
which occupy so large a part in them would
not be unacceptable, especially if accompanied
by an explanation of the symbolic importance
which the Japanese appear to attach to
them.

Russian Locals. — Make way for the locals !
There are several of them waiting to be
presented — some newT comers, hitherto totally
unknown, and others who claim precedence
because they were described in The Stamp-
Collector's Magazine in 1871. Assenting to
the request of these latter, let us select for
introduction the sole value in use in

Kosoletz (Tchernigoff). — Truly not a very

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

elegant stamp, but of acknowledged merit
nevertheless, since it has
now been in nse some
years. M. Moens states
that it has been used
since 1867, but this can
hardly be, since the decree
authorising the emission of
local stamps, as he himself
reminds us in another
place, is dated the 22nd June, 1869, and in-
formal issues are things unknown in Russia.
The inscription and frame, which form the
whole design of this Kosoletz stamp, are
printed in bronze on white paper, unperf.

Kropeevna, or Krapivna (Tula). — The arms
on this stamp are not easy of comprehension.
The Tchern stamp, which comes from the
same government, and of which we gave
an illustration last month, bears two wheat
sheaves, indicative
evidently of the fer-
tility of the district,
and we are inclined
to believe that the
leaves on the Kro-
peevna stamp are
those of some staple
of the country. The
horse-shoe inscription signifies kropeevna
rural post, and the words below the shield
express the value. Below them again is
the abbreviation no., followed, on the spe-
cimen whence our illustration is engraved,
by a rotation number, written by hand, in
black ink. From this it is evident that
the circulation of the stamps must be
very limited. The impression is in blue
on a white paper bearing a quadrille pat-
tern.

Kotelnich (Yiatka). — A some-
what imperfect description of two
stamps issued for this district was
given in our 1871 list. M. Moens
has obtained specimens of both,
and also of two others, which he
believes to be of earlier date. We
wdl take the stamps in the order
in which he describes them : —

1st Series. — Type I. — Divided
into two parts, separated by a
fancy design, the right containing

an inscribed double circle, within a square ; —
in the centre 3 kop., and slanting figure
of value in each angle ; the left containing
the following inscription : —

No.

Year 18

Month

Day

Postmaster

within a rectangle. It is probable that only
the right half was attached to the letter, the
left being detached, and either given to the
sender as a receipt, or kept by the receiving
post-office. This first type was intended
for letters circulating within the district,
and was printed in black on bluish grey
paper.

3 kop. bluish grey.

Type II. — Same arrangement as in the

toda

dHJl

UpieMuifUKZ

first type. The inscription is abridged, and
is in an oblong oval, and the corner figures
are upright. The entire stamp is smaller,
and the fancy pattern is continued uninter-
ruptedly between the four stamps contained
on a sheet, whilst in the first type this pattern
breaks off with each stamp. Type II., printed
in black on a glazed orange-vermilion paper,
was destined for letters to other districts.

3 kop.

orange-vermilion.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

four stamps which go to a sheet,
as many varieties, distinguished as

The
form
follows : — ■

Var. 1. — The figure 3 approaches the
oval, and under the value are 8 balls,
or pearls, with a pointed ornament
(lance-head) at each end.
Var. 2. — Instead of 8 balls there is a
small square, between two lance-
heads (see our engraving).
Var. 3. — Like 2, but the lance-heads
much larger. There are also various
differences in the disposition of the
legend, and the words 3 kop. take
an upward direction towards the
right. ,
Var. 4. — The word? 3 kop. are directed
downwards, and the Lmce-heads are
separated by a ball.
2nd Series. — This series possesses
only one single type (lithographed),
which is here represented, and it will
be seen that the design is an improve-
ment, in its way, on those of the first
series. The oval does not fill the
obhmg, it is shaded, a dotted ground
is added, and some attempt made to
render the corners ornamental. The
central figure and the frame are in black ;
the rest of the design is in colour. There
are two stamps of the same facial value —
one for letters in the issuing district, and
the other for letters to other districts.

3 kop. blue and black.

3 ,, yellow and black.

The 3 kop. bluish grey (1st series) and the
3 kop. yellow (2nd series) are not gummed ;
the 3 kop. orange-vermilion (1st series) has
the right half gummed, and the 3 kop. blue
(2nd series) is gummed all over.

Eos toff on Von (Ekater-

inoslav) . — Another old-new
stamp, issued on the 7th
May, 1871, and still in use.
The design is a very modest
one. The inscription reads

thus: RURAL POSTAGE STAMP
FIVE KOP.— ROSTOFF ON

don. Printed blue on
white.
Boijorodalc. — The stamps of the new type.

which we noticed last month, are farthei
distinguished from their predecessors by
their having three rows of balls, instead of
the four balls which figure in the (hi types
at the bottom of the oval. The new stamps
are also a millimetre shorter than the old,
and are printed on thick white paper.

Wuktemburg. — We learn from La Gazette
that an unperf orated stamp of the old arms-
in-relief type has just been issued, — value
70 kreuzers, violet, printed on thick, white
paper, and intended for the prepayment of
letters on which the postage amounts to
more than 69 kreuzers, and we presume
(although La Gazette does not say so)
not more than 70 kreuzers; some better
or fuller explanation of the issue of this
stamp is needed. Tint it partakes of an
official character is evident from the fact

181 TO^

MiLcapi

that it is not sold to the public, but attached
by the postal employes.

La Gazette notices the issue of a new
9 kr. stamp, bistre, line-pierced, and of the
type already in circulation. The 2 kr.
orange-yellow, referred to in our last, has
made its appearance.

Germany. — The annexed engraving re-
presents the stamp impressed in brown on
the new German cards. The
Philatelist doubts the gen-
uineness of the two j gros-
chen envelopes we described
last month, and Le Timbre
Poste suggests that they may
be issued for the Royal
Society of Invalids, Berlin.
As yet we possess no positive evidence as to
the character of these envelopes, but we
believe that they are stamped by the German
Postal Administration to the order of private
individuals, in the same way as the higher
values if English envelopes are stamped at
Somerset Eouse; and for our own part we

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

have no doubt of their being perfectly
genuine.

Bavaria. — The 12 kr. is no longer in use.
Since the 1st January its place has been
occupied by a 10 kr. yellow, of the same
type, and the 9 kreuzer, which had been
withdrawn from, circulation, reappears in
reddish brown. Both these novelties are
watermarked and perforated like the current
stamps.

Guatemala. — Four years since, some pen-
marked stamps, bearing a design evidently
copied from Hulot's well-
known type, made their ap-
pearance, and were prompt-
ly and generally condemned
as forgeries. These stamps
now reappear, authentically
postmarked, upon letters
which have come straight
from Guatemala. Of their
genuineness there appears no reason to
doubt ; it is, however, very possible that
they may be fiscals. They bear a French in-
scription— TIMBRE DE GUATEMALA— ■ sufficient
in itself to justify the suspicion which they
formerly excited, and which gives colouring to
the hypothesis that the stamps are a revenue
series. The 4 reales, of which we give an
engraving, is copied from one of four stamps
which were taken off a letter by M. Moens,
from whose journal we obtain these details :
" Their authenticity being attested," says
M. Moens, "we requested our correspondent
to favour us with a sight of the stamps he
had communicated in 1869, and which we
then judged to be false. On comparison, we
find our 4 rls. conforms, in all respects, to
the one we had examined four years ago,
and we also find that there are in all five
values: —

j real
2 „
4 „
1 peso

brick.

orange-yellow

blue.

green.

rose, pale.

These five values form as many types ; they
differ from each other in the shape of the
shield and the groundwork. They are all
lithographed." Not only the inscription,
but also the high values, and the fact that on
the 1 peso green, examined by M. Moens,

traces of a signature were found, point to
the supposition that this was, at any rat?,
originally a revenue series. Of the fivj
values we at present know of, only one — the
4 rls.- — is being utilised for postal purposes ;
and it is strange that it should be so utilised
at the very moment when another 4 reales of
the new type, recently engraved by us, is
issued.

Mauritius. — We congratulate ourselves on
bsing' first in the field with engravings of the

new and handsome Mauritius envelopes, of
which the forthcoming- emission was noticed
in our last volume. These finely cut stamps
carry their origin on their faces. They are
engraved by De La Rue & Co., who appear
to be fast monopolising the manufacture of
postage and other stamps for the colonies.
The colours of these two new values are — ■

Tenpence maroon.

One-and-eightpence blue.

They will form a brilliant addition to an
already brilliant pnge.

France. — To the list of embryonic provi-
sionals must be added a 10 c. bistre, head of
liberty, 1848 type, with the value in words,
dix centimes, printed in black across the face.
Most provisionals are formed by a surcharge
expressing a new value, but, in this instance,
the surcharge consists of a repetition of the
original denomination. The solution of this
riddle, as afforded by our Belgian contempo-
rary, is very simple. At the end of the year
1871, the 10 c. bistre, was " out of work,"
having been superseded by the 15 c. of the
same colour, and New Year's Day was at
hand. On that day a vast number of visit-
ing cards are sent through the post in
France, and the postage of the same, in open
envelopes, is 1<» centimes, from one town to

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

another. For want of a 10 c. stamp the
senders would have to use two 5 c. stamps,
and just at that moment it happened that
the supply of the 5 c. ran short. M. Hulot,
the post-office magician, was applied to, and
in a short time he turned out three millions
of 10 c, surcharged as above mentioned,
but they were never used, because he was also
able to get ready a sufficient number of 5 c.
The reason for surcharging the 10 c. with its
own value was to guard against the confusion
which would have arisen from its employment
contemporaneously with the 15 c, and the
deception which might have been practised
on the postal officials.

RAMBLES AT HOME AND ABROAD.

BY QVELQU'UX.
II.

"There is now coming on a mania for collecting
everything that looks like a stamp, no matter how
preposterous or absurd in idea or nature. The present
mania is commencing with bung-labels and physic stamps,
and will finish with reel-tojrs and the lunatic asylum."
The FhUattlical Journal, p. 185.

In our former ramble we endeavoured to
show the fallacy of a collector ever imagining
that he can arrive at anything approaching to
completeness in making a collection of fiscal
stamps ; for the nature of the stamps them-
selves renders it an impossibility. Such
a collection would have no cohesion, but at
the very best it must be a gathering together
of sparse and scattered specimens of die-
sinking and engraving, which may be found
in a thousand objects more worthy of col-
lection. We also suggested, that as our
continental friends had stated certain defi-
nitions, to include the collection of fiscals,
they could scarcely, under the terms of their
definitions, exclude the collection of railway
tickets, which in our own opinion would be
more instructive and interesting than the col-
lection of many kinds of fiscals.

If we did not fatigue our readers in our
last ramble, we will now ask them to accom-
pany us again in one amongst a class of
stamps which we said were of a hybrid nature,
neither fish, flesh, nor fowl, and which, if
tested by the definition of a fiscal stamp, as
given by the writer of the articles in the

Gazette des Timbres, can scarcely be regarded
as fiscal. In this case, the impost is applied
to the thing manufactured, and before it is
sold the payment of the duty must be denoted
by a stamp being affixed to it, purchased
from the government, or some one repre-
senting the government. In England, fchi ise
stamps are of two kinds only — the stamps
on patent medicines and on playing cards.
In the United States, which is so prolific in
stamps — and where they seem like truffles,
that only want hunting for to be found — our
readers will not be very much sui^prised to
hear that the field is larger, and is capable
also of almost indefinite extension — a source,
no doubt, of great consolation to amateurs of
such like stamps.

We know — or, perhaps, some of us do not
know, but, at any rate, our fathers did — how
that during the times of the war with France,
the stamps and taxes were a very unpleasant,
but by no means a singular, concomitant of
our dogged resolution to overt li row Napoleon.
Many modes of tooth-drawing, more or less
painful, were invented by the chancellors of
the exchequer of those days. Matches,
fortunately, only then existed as slips of
wood dipped in brimstone, and were fre-
quently manufactured at home, or for a
certainty a more successful raid would have
been made upon them then than that tit-
tempted by the present Chancellor of the
Exchequer; but the stamp duty on patent
medicines remains as it was when imposed in
1810 ; that on playing cards, which is of more
ancient date, has been modified recently.

The secession war in America, like all
civil wars, was an expensive thing of its
kind. Our transatlantic cousins, however,
set themselves to work with a will to find
means, not only for paying the interest of its
cost, but the principal also; and for tin's
purpose every conceivable thing that could
be taxed was ordained to contribute its
quota. Stamp duties furnish no inconsider-
able portion of this. Some, it is trite, existed
prior to the war, "but the greater part were
called into existence by the necessit ies created
by it. Some were borrowed from English
precedents, while others tire due to the fertile
genius and inventive brains of the Americans
themselves. We need scarcely say thai there

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

are duties on dealings with, property, both
real and personal, that are collected by
stamps impressed and adhesive. There are
also duties on other articles, such as tobacco,
snuff, beer, &c, where the duties are also
collected by stamps. The stamps on tobacco
are very similar to those formerly used in
England for the collection of the duty on
paper, and affixed to each ream of paper
liable to the payment of duty. These stamps
were issued and signed by the officers of
excise in the same way as the tobacco stamps
in the United States. Surely, then, if to-
bacco stamps are collected, the same favour
should be extended to their pioneer — the
English paper-duty stamps. The duty on
beer in England, when it existed, was collected
in the same way as the duties on home-made
spirits ; but in the United States it is collected
by means of a stamp placed over the bung of
the barrel, the removal of which from it when
fall is felony. " Bung labels " may therefore
be considered as being the exclusive invention
of the treasury tooth-drawers of the United
States.

But besides the above, there is a class of
stamps called proprietary stamps, which
form the subject of a recent article in the
Gazette des Timbres, by Dr. Magnus, who
earnestly advocates their collection. It ap-
pears from this, that in the United States
the manufacturers of matches, of perfumery,
and various other articles, as also the owner
of any patent medicine, may, on paying a
certain sum for the cost of engraving into the
hands of the government, have a stamp pre-
pared and printed according to any design he
may furnish; so that, not only is the number of
these stamps legion, and may be indefinitely
increased, but they may be, and are, employed
as an advertisement for the parties using
them, and in the case of patent medicines
are sometimes degraded into a puff of all sorts
of quackery, the crop of which is quite as
plentiful in the United States as elsewhere.

The learned doctor, after a rapid glance
at the stamps on playing cards and matches,
which we purpose noticing hereafter, dives,
con amove, into those on patent medicines,
winding up his description with the enthusi-
astic exclamation: "It is impossible to imagine
the interest attaching; to the search after these

stamps ; and their incontestable fiscal char-
acter justifies the collection of them."

The article is illustrated by a representa-
tion of an elaborate engraving intended to
figure on the bottles of " F. Brown's Essence
of Jamaica Ginger," and of another equally
elaborate engraving, to be applied to the
boxes of "Dr. Herrick's Sugar-coated Pills,"
with a portrait of, we suppose, Dr. Herrick
in the centre. Each of the stamps also
bears minute directions as to the doses to be
given, and in the case of the ginger they are
directed to be administered in sugar and
water. A third representation is that of a
stamp on which is the knave of clubs ; but
this has evidently found its way amongst
the "doctor's stuff" stamps by mistake, and
belongs to the stamps on playing cards. On
the two stamps first mentioned an inscrip-
tion tells us the amount of duty charg-eable,
but this is quite subservient to the rest of
the design. On the whole, they are fair
specimens of the genus, and, without enume-
rating others which have fallen under our
own notice, are, we think, sufficient to satisfy
our readers of the absurdity of collecting
bottle and pill-box labels, and such like
advertising puffs, under the guise of stamps.

This stamp duty on patent medicines was
no doubt borrowed from England, where it
has been imposed for the last sixty years.
The language of the Act of Parliament (52
Geo. III., c. 150) is so very terse, that we
can confidently recommend it as a model to
the countries of codes. The Act, after
enumerating- a number of articles subjected
to the duties, proceeds : —

And also all other Pills, Powders, Lozenges, Tinctures,
Potions, Cordials, Electuaries, Plaiste'rs, Unguents, Salves,
Ointments, Drops, Lotions, Oils, Spirits, Medicated Herbs
and "Waters, Chemical and Officinal Preparations, what-
soever, to be used or applied externally or internally as
Medicines or Medicares for the Prevention, Cure, or
Relief of any Disorder or Complaint incident to, or in
anywise affecting the Human Body, made, prepared,
uttered, vended or exposed to sale by an}- Person or
Persons whatsoever, wherein the Person, making, pre-
paring, uttering, vending or exposing to sale the same,
hath or claims to have any occult Secret or Art for the
making or preparing the same, or hath or claims to have
any exclusive Eight or Title to the making or preparing
the same, or which have at any time heretofore been, now
arc, or shall hereafter be prepared, uttered, vended,
or exposed to sale under the authority of any Letters
Patent under the Great Seal, or which have at any time
heretofore been, now are, or sh:ill hereafter be by any
Public Notice or Advertisement, or by any written or

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Printed Papers or Handbills, or by any Label or Words
written or printed, affixed to or delivered with any Packet,
Box, liottle, Phial, or other inclosure containing the
same, held out or recommended to the Public by the
Makers, Vendors, or Proprietors thereof, as Nostrums, or
Proprietary Medicines, or as Specifics, or as beneficial to
the Prevention, Cure, or Relief of any Distemper, Malady,
Ailment, Disorder, or Complaint incident to or in anywise
affecting the Human Body.

The duties levied by the Act are as f ollows : —

£ s. it.

On articles to the value of Is 0 0 \h

From Is. to 2s. 6d 0 0 3

„ 2s.6d. „ 4s 0 0 6

„ 4s. „ 10s 0 1 0

„ 10s. „ 20s 0 2 0

„ 20s. ,, 30s 0 3 0

„ 30s. „50s 0 10 0

,, 50s. upwards 1 0 0

Stamped labels of the above values are issued by the
stamp-office, to be fixed on the article, so that the contents
cannot be removed without tearing the Stamp. The
penalty in all cases is £ 10.

The stamps themselves are uniform in
design, and this is of a most unp retentions
nature ; they are printed in red and black,
after the mode of Mr. Whiting, and do not
display that pleasing variety so remarkable
in the physic stamps of the United States,
in which also the puff forms a part of the
stamp. Whether the design now in use is
the same as that employed in 1810, when the
duties were first imposed, or whether there
may be one or more obsolete series, we are
unable to say ; but the actual type has been in
use, to our own recollection, for forty years.
where it is mixed up with certain reminis-
cences of boxes of " Shepherd's Black Currant
Lozenges," cheaply purchased at the expense
of a sore throat ; though our memory fails
us when we try to carry it farther back to a
certain " Soothing Syrup," highly recom-
mended to arrest infantine attempts at
producing undue development of the lungs.
If, then, the physic stamps of the United
States are to be collected, on what ground,
w^e ask, are the English physic stamps, the
distinguished ancestors of the whole tribe
of physic stamps and adhesives, to be
ignored ?

We have said that the physic stamps of
the United States can be indefinitely multi-
plied. In fact, each collector might, on
paying the necessary expense, have a stamp
peculiar to himself. Further than this, any
person desirous of advertising or puffing,

can do it under the guise of a stamp.
Suppose any American Dr. Squeers were
desirous of advertising his establishment, he
has only to take Mrs. Squeers's celebrated
prescription,

1}. Sulph : flor : 5iv.
Theriacse ^iv.

Fiat electuarium. Cochl : magnum j omne die mane
sumend :

and set forth the preparation as a special
cure for external and internal irritation in
young people ; and he can ornament the pots
with a stamp of any design he pleases,
including one of Dotheboy's Hall itself, the
whole served up with a puff of any amplitude.
Fellow -rambler, do you not feel sick of
physic? Our advice, offered gratis, is Tint
to touch its stamps, but to leave them to the
doctors and the druggists.

THE PHILATELIC SOCIETY,
LONDON.

Ox Saturday, the 1st ultimo, a general
meeting was held at Dr. Viner's, 31, Denbigh
Street, in accordance with an official notice
to all existing members, for the purpose of
making arrangements for remodelling this
society. It was proposed by the president,
Sir Daniel Cooper, Bart, and resolved
unanimously, that, in consequence of the
inconvenience of corresponding with foreign
and country members without employing
the services of a paid secretary, which
would entail too great an expense, the
society be dissolved, and reconstituted. It
was therefore settled, that the balance re-
maining in the hands of the acting honorary
secretary be expended in purchasing sets of
certain newly-issued stamps for presentation
to retiring members, according to the amount
of their paid subscriptions, but that the
meetings should continue to be held at the
above address, about once a month, of which
due notice should be given in the magazines,
at which all philatelists would be welcome
to attend, without the payment of any sub-
scription, for the comparison of specimens,
and for other objects of philatelic interest.

To the said meeting, the attending mem-
bers brought their collections of English
stamps ; the president exhibiting some choice

THE STAMP -COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

proofs of hitherto inedited Mulready varie-
ties. Dr. Viner showed upwards of two
hundred and fifty varieties of the envelopes,
wrappers, and post cards of Great Britain.

The first meeting of the society under its
new aspect took place on the 22nd ultimo,
when the emissions of Egypt and of Western
and Southern Africa were exhibited. The
next will be held on Saturday, the 15th of
this month, at 2"30, to which any philatelist
is invited to be present. The stamps of
India, Cashmere, the Deccan, and the Mau-
ritius to be shown.

REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATION'S.

Ojopen's Postage-Stamp Album and Catalogue.
Seventeenth Edition. Edited by Dr. Viner.
Loudon : W. Stevens.

This old-established favourite again calls for
notice. Less than seven years ago the editor-
ship of the volume passed into the care of
Dr. Viner, and since then ten. editions have
been issued — a fact which tells its own tale
as to the sterling worth of the book. It is
almost superfluous to say that the edition
before us is carefully brought up to the time
of going to press. Spaces are provided in
the album for all the most recent emissions,
including Iceland, Curacoa, Surinam, Por-
tuguese Indies, &c. ; and in the catalogue
such novelties as the new Roumanian set,
the 2 1 gr. and 9 kr. German Empire, and the
one franc Luxembourg, find place. After
careful scrutiny we fail to discover a single
flaw in the album, and the ample space
allotted to each country, will, for some time
to come, secure those who may patronise it
against the annoyance so often experienced
of not having room for future issues. On
turning to the catalogue wre notice a few
points which we would suggest for the con-
sideration of the editor against he is called
on to prepare the eighteenth edition.

(i.) The consistent recognition or rejection of minor
varieties. — At present perforation is only occasionally
noticed, e.g., Danubian Principalities, Heligoland, &c.
Sometimes, as in the current French, no distinction is
.made between lithographed and engraved stamps, while
under Hungary we find both kinds described. Under
Mecklenburg Sehwerin only one set of envelopes is men-
tioned, while Wurtcmburg is duly credited with two sets,
differing only in the size of their inscriptions.

(ii.) 7 he abolition of '■'•vermin," such as British (except

Keble College), Dresden, Leitmeritz, and United States
locals known to be false, from the list.

(iii.) The folio wing are omitted: Sardinia early covers,
two sets. Guadalajara, medio real. Montevideo, "dili-
geneia" set and provisional set. New Granada, 1867, 25 e.
black on grey.

(iv.) Addenda and corrigenda. — The Swiss Rayons and
Poste Locale 2\ have only one of their number, viz.,
Hayon III., with value in cents as well as in rappen.
The 50 kr. and 50 sol. Austrian envelopes, Antioquia'25 c,
Tclima (oblong) 20 c., are all creations of the editorial
brain. Of Austria adhesive, 1867, 25 kr., there are two
distinct colours. Danubian Principalities, 1865, 20 paras,
is found in pink and carmine. The Portuguese Indies,
100 r., is found in yellow-green and dark sap-green.
The Russian local for Louga is an adhesive, not an enve-
lope. The British Guiana "newspaper" should be
"provisional."

In conclusion, we have only to add that
the paper, printing, and binding being of the
best, the result is a very handsome volume.

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

New Granada. — M. Moens considers the frequent
issues which take place as the indirect consequence of
the frequent changes which are made in the staff of the
Colombian post-oflice — changes which, combined with the
irregularity of delivery and the general disorder in that
department, have pretty nearly destroyed the confidence
of the public in its efficiency. — The Philatelist.

President Grant and the Postage Stamps. —
Some time ago two youths of Bern addressed a letter to
President Grant, asking him to aid them in gathering a
collection of American postage stamps. A few days ago
the said youths unexpectedly received, through the
American envoy at Berne, a fine assortment of United
States s!amps, accompanied by a letter, in which the Pre-
sident said that his many duties had prevented him under-
taking the collection himself, and that therefore his
youngest son had taken the matter in hand. — Swiss Times.

United States Postal Cards. — "We are told by The
New York HemM\ that letters are daily being received
at the Post Office Department, asking when the posfal
cards will be ready. New York merchants have made
application for over two millions, which are to be used
as advertising cai-ds. Firms in Boston, Providence, Phila-
delphia, Pittt-bunr, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and, in fact,
all the large cities, have similar requests filed ; and it is
believed that at least one half the first lot (fifty millions)
will be immediately disposed of to corporations and busi-
ness houses, to be used as a cheap means of advertising.

Novel Use of Gummed Paper. — "We were aware,"
says The Echo an Norde, "that the gummed paper bor-
dering postage stamp sheets might be used in numberless
ways, but we were ignorant of that mentioned by M.
Paul Aquarone, of Toulon, an ardent amateur of birds.
It is well to make it known, for it may prove of great ser-
vice at the hatching season to breeders of poultry, &c.
' Whenever I meet with a cracked egg,' says M. Aqua-
rone, 'and find its shell-membrane intact, I stick over
the crack a small strip of paper cut from the margin of a
sheet of postage stamps, and I put my egg away for incu-
bation. Every egg thus patched up succeeds with me
eight times out of ten. As much care a3 possible must,
however, be taken to employ paper of the same colour as
the egg, which is not a very difficult matter, considering

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE

the numerous colours afforded by the various values of
postage stamps. Without this precaution, the hen-bird,
should the difference of shade be too marked, tries to re-
move the paper, when she generally breaks the egg.' "

Correspondence by Newspaper.— The story of the
young Irish girl who managed to obtain news of her lover
by means of unpaid letters, which she never took in, has
passed into history. A friend of ours has recounted to us
an equally ingenious and amusing, though, in strictness,
a less justifiable method, which he once employed in order
to exchange communications at lower rates than those au-
thorised by the post-office. When quite a young man,
some eighteen or twenty years ago, he was in the United
States, and was in the habit of corresponding with a young
lady in the old country. At that time, be it remembered,
the postage between the two countries was a shilling per
half ounce letter. Whenever he received a letter from the
object of his affections, he acknowledged receipt of it by
sending a newspaper. He prepaid the postage thereon by
means of two stamps, of low value, and wrote a brief re-
ply, in a microscopic hand, across the space which the two
stamps were intended to cover. He assures us that with
care he used to get a great deal into that space, and this
we quite believe. When the newspaper reached its desti-
nation the young lady had only to get off the stamps by
moistening the back of the sheet, and the eagerly awaited
epistle was exposed to view. Needless to add that the
fair recipient, when she received a letter from the United
States, acknowledged it in the same manner. We might
have felt some qualms at initiating the public into this
clever invention, but the postage to and from all civilized
countries is now so low that such a practice as the one
above described would hardly pay for the trouble.

CORRESPONDENCE.

DATE OF ISSUE OF THE THIRD FARMESAN

SERIES.
To the Editor o/"'*The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."
Sir, — I notice that Dr. Gray, in the fifth edition of
his valuable catalogue, gives the date of the Parma,
fleur-de-lis in oval, inscribed duc di parma piac. ecc,
as 1858. I have a specimen of the 25 c. brown of this
issue, postmarked parma, 12 Nov., '57.
I am, Sir,

Yours truly,
Winchester. 11. St. C. F.

[The 25 c. and 40 c. were, we believe, issued in Janu-
ary, 1857, and the 15 c. in the November following. — Ed.]

THE QUESTIONABLE ECUADOR STAMPS.

To the Editor of" The Stamp -Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — I must confess I look upon the new
Ecuador stamps with great suspicion. By comparing the
h real and 1 peso with the Haitian impostor, it will be
seen that the similarity of design is very great, particu-
larly in the h real; their perforation, also (11), is the
same as that of a specimen of the above-mentioned im-
postor which I have by me. The 1 real, however, I
am inclined to think genuine; (1.) From its difference
in design ; (2.) Because it appeared by itself, and not in
company of the other two values. If this be true, what
more likely than that the forgers, having heard of the
emission of a 1 real stamp, but being ignorant of its de-
sign, should forthwith proceed to forge two other values,
and by ingeniously setting them afloat at the same time
as the genuine stamps appeared, attempt to entice the

philatelic public into accepting them as genuine. Trust-
ing this may be of sonic use,
1 remain,

Yours truly,

' VERITAS.
Darlington.

NEW GRANADA "SOBRE-PORTE" 1868 STAMPS.
To the Editor of "Try. Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — We are all familiar with the unsullied
faces of the above stamps, on which, with your permis-
sion, I wish to make a few remarks. For many years I
have had correspondents in the republic who have sent
me over many hundreds of stamps of all issues and value-,
but, strange to relate, notoneof the reputed 1868 "Sobre-
Porte" set has ever been amongst them. Yet, more sur-
prising, I have never been able to buy them at Bogota,
though, perhaps, I may have always hit on dates when
they were out of stock. Most surprising of all, my corres-
pondents, two of whom are intelligent collectors, profess
entire ignorance of the set. Now, sir, how are these
things to be accounted for ? Are my friends, think you,
hoaxing me ? Have they any plot to make a used stamp
of this series as rare, say, as a green Bolivar ? lie help me.

Meanwhile let me call your attention to a little matter
based on the copies which, through another channel, I
have obtained. We all know that, the lowest portion of
the shield containing the Colombian arms is occupied by
an isthmus, with a ship on each side. This is clear on
many stamps, and visible to an instructed eye on all, even
when the impression is from a very worn stone.

But now turn to your copies of the "rare" set under
discussion. In the first place, you have not lithographs,
but woodcuts. Next, not impression- from worn blocks,
but prints as clear as they conceivably can be. Further,
note the place of our friend, the isthmus, and itsatten 'ant
ships — what has happened ? Verily, to a tyro eye, though
of course not to yours, is presented, a shapeless something,
not more definitely to be described, as though the engraver
had never understood the arms he was engaged to depict.
This same conclusion is also further strengthened by an
examination of the topmost division of I he shield. There
we ought to find two cornucopia', witli a p imegranate (?)
between them. But what do we find: Why plenty
of horns, rather than horns of plenty! Again, -sir, I ap-
peal to you — you who have warned unwary gulls afore-
time—to say to what all this points. English dealers,
in my experience, do not sell these stamps; my copies
came from Brussels long years ago, as, may be, yours did
too ; so if you have any curiosity about their parentage, I
hope you will allow me, through your columns, to appeal
to their introducer to give an account of his protegt ».
Yours humblv,

"ANTI-HUMBUG.

P.S. — A friend suggests a solution worth noticing:
"Probably they are not Colombian stamps at all, but
Moresnetiuns " !

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

R. F., Liverpool. — The Sardinian issue of lNoi-o has
the king's profile on a white oval, and all the rest of the
stamp is in colour, inscriptions included.

V. C, London.— The Guatemala stamps you describe
are well known, and there is not the least doubt about
their genuineness. It is respecting two new values tint
discussion has arisen, because they differed so widely from
the authentic type.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

RAMBLES AT HOME AND ABROAD.

BY QUELQU'UN.
III.

In our last ramble we pointed out that the
stamp duties on physic were not an American
invention, but had existed in England for
many years. In fact, the label issued by
the stamp-office is, we believe, the earliest
adhesive stamp ever issued in England and
sold to the public for revenue purposes. We
also endeavoured to show the puerility of col-
lecting such stamps, especially the American
ones, which latter were practically inex-
haustible, as they could be manufactured to
anyone's order, to anyone's taste, and to
cover even such prescriptions as that of Mrs.
Squeers ; or even for no earthly purpose
whatever, except to minister to the vanity of
the proprietors, by a display of their portraits,
or to provide for the yearnings of collectors.*
We will now see how the second of that
species of stamp, which is applied to the
article taxed prior to its sale, is worthy of
collection, — we mean the stamps on playing
cards.

Dr. Magnus tells us that the stamp duty
on playing cards in the States is five cents
on each pack ; and he gives a list of the
stamps as follows : —

1 cent red.

2 ,, blue and orange.

3 ,, green.

4 ,, violet.

5 ,, red.

This may be all right, and we do not
dispute it, for we have no data wherewith to
do so. Our business is not with the Ameri-
can stamps, but with the English. We will
only remark that we have never seen card
stamps of 1 cent, 2 cents, or 3 cents. We
have seen an old copy of 4 cents in black, and
copies of 5 cents in blue, green, and black,
as also a 10 cents in blue ; we think, there-
fore, that there is no colour specially set
apart for the different values, but that this
is left to the fancy of the person who orders

* Since our last ramble, we have had an opportunity
of looking over a large collection of physic stamps.
"Were we to judge from them we should say that wind
and worms were very prevalent in the States, and that
there was a pretty considerable call for bitters.

VOL. XI. No. 121.

them from the government " bureau of
engraving and printing."

Now the duties on playing cards are far
from being an American invention, any more
than those xipon patent medicines. The
existence of a duty on playing cards in
England, dates from rather a remote period.
It certainly existed in the time of Queen
Anne ; and if the duties were then taken by
stamps, probably a specimen would be far
more difficult to obtain than some other
rarities of that reign, the search after which
drives numismatists half crazy. But for
our purpose it will, we think, be superfluous
to go back beyond our own recollections.
Within them we can find field enough and to
spare even to satisfy such of our continental
friends as are hungry after such things, and
therefore we shall start from the law as it
existed previously to 1862, when the duties
established in 1828 by the Act 9 Goo. III.,
c. 18, were altered.

By the Act passed in 1828, a duty of one
shilling was imposed oil every pack of cards.
The 4th section of the Act provided that
this duty should be denoted on the ace of
spades, which was constituted the stamp.
Each manufacturer supplied his own plates to
the stamp-office, each plate containing twenty
aces of spades, of a design approved of by
the authorities of the stamp- office, with the
words " Duty One Shilling " forming part
of the design. The manufacturer also sent
to the stamp-office paper sufficient for the
number of copies reqtiired, and the stamp-
office printed them off, charging the manu-
facturer £1 for every sheet of twenty aces.

The Act also provided that the pack con-
taining one such ace of spades should bo
wrapped up in a,jeu;f the design of which
had been previously submitted to, and ap-
proved of by, the stamp authorities. The
pack was then tied with a thread, and an
officer of the commissioners affixed a label on
each pack, to guard against the possibility

t Some of our readers may not comprehend this pro-
vision of the Act, "that the pack should be wrapped up
in a jew," and may possibly think it should have been
reversed. The Act, however, explains that a jew is the
technical term for a wrapper. What the etymology of the
word is, we are unable to say, but we strongly suspect it
has more to do with jeu than with the descendants of
Abraham.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

of the pack being opened, and the ace of
spades removed before being sent out for
sale. The Act farther contained various
anathemas against persons contravening its
enactments, condemning to the punishment of
death anyone found guilty of forging the
stamps created in virtue of its provisions.

This law continued in force until the year
1862, when the duties were altered, and
reduced by Act 25 Vict., c. 22, to threepence
on each pack of cards. The ace of spades
also was no longer the stamp, but it was
provided that each pack should be enclosed
in a wrapper furnished by the stamp-office.
For this purpose each manufacturer of cards
furnishes to the stamp-office a certain number
of plates of a design regulated by the
authorities, and when he requires a supply
of covers, they are printed for him by the
office. The Act provides that this cover or
wrapper shall bear the name of the manu-
facturer ; but though each manufacturer
furnishes his own plates, yet the general
design is the same for all, and all the
wrappers are cut to the same shape. They
are printed in blue, on thin, tough paper,
and the engraving is the work of Messrs.
Perkins, Bacon, & Co. The greater part of
the design consists of flower and scroll work,
with other engine-turned ornaments, and two
anathematical notices, enjoining the des-
truction of the wrapper by the party opening
the pack, and the cancellation of the stamp
by the vendor of the pack.* The portion of
the design appropriated to the stamp is the
point of the tail of a bat-like design. The
centre of the wrapper is cut away in an oval
form, to show the internal wrapper of the
manufacturer, and serves as a sort of
framing to a picture of the Great Mogul,
the Valiant Highlander, &c.., as the case
may be.

Having thus pointed out the provisions of

* These sensational notices were not required under
the former system, the duties being taken, as we have
seen, in a different manner. They much resemble those
on the notes of the Bank of France, where we are told
twice over, once in small letters, and once in cipitals,
that the law punishes the forger with hard labour for life.
We should think such notices would have about as much
effect in deterring an intending transgressor, as one of a
similar nature affixed above the packet would have on
any of the Bill Sikes fraternity who was contemplating an
unlawful appropriation of its contents.

the laws governing the stamps on cards in
England, we will now examine shortly where
a collector of stamps on cards would be
landed, supposing he were to attempt to
make a collection of English card stamps.

In the first place, taking1 the law as it
stood from 1828 to 1862, during which time
the stamp duty was denoted by the ace of
spades, he would be compelled to form a
rather extensive collection of aces of spades,
considering that each manufacturer of cards
must have supplied a considerable number of
plates to the stamp-office during that period,
each plate containing 20 aces differing, most
probably, one from another in some minute
particulars. As we are sure that no con-
tinental collector could overlook the design
on the back of the new Mexican postage
stamps, so, in like manner, he could not
ignore the existence of the charming variety
of designs and colours ou the backs of the
numerous chefs cVceuvres emanating from
the ateliers of De La Rue, Goodall, Willis,
Hunt, &c, &c. We have, then, the different
varieties of paper, and during a space of
thirty-four years, this must have varied
much. In fact, we have all the following
elements of varieties : the number of card-
makers, the number of plates furnished by
each manufacturer, the number of designs
on the backs, and the various kinds of paper ;
the whole being multiplied by twenty, for
the varieties of type of the as f on each
plate. Any collector arriving at a hundredth
part of this, ought, in his old age. to he pre-
sented with the freedom of the Honourable
Company of Cardmakers, if certified still to be
of a sound mind.

The collection of the stamps under the law
of 1862 is not so laborious. We are not aware
that any alteration in the general design 0f
the stamped cover has been made since it was
first issued. The varieties are therefore con-
fined to the simple sum of the number of card
manufacturers, multiplied by the number of
plates supplied by each The stump itself.
as we have seen, forms an integral part of
the wrapper, and the whole must lie collected
together. The dimensions and shape are,
it is true, rather awkward for collection; it

t French for ace. Nothing to do with the quadruped
or the collector.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

measures 9| inches from the extremity of
one wing to that of the other, and 8|- inches
from the tip of the tail' to the extremity of
the head ; but as the number is fortunately
limited, not more than one large-sized vol-
ume would be required for an entire col-
lection !

One word more before we cease our
ramble. Though the invention of physic
and card stamps does not hail from the West,
yet there is one other stamp to be noticed,
coming under this same category — that on
matches — which had its origin in the States.
More than three-fourths of these stamps
bear a portrait of what we suppose to be the
matchmaker himself, got up in his best style,
possibly as an advertisement to kindle a flame
for another kind of match. Efforts were
made to impose this duty in England, but
greater efforts were made to prevent the
imposition. "We fancy, ourselves, that the
Chancellor of the Exchequer was in error in
riding his own hobby with a uniform stamp.
Had he permitted the male and female
matchmakers in England to have employed
a stamp with their own individualities upon
it, we cannot but think that his attempt
would have been more successful.

The match duty forms part of the present
French budget of ways and means, but the
design of the stamp is not remarkable,
further than it is inferior, in point of execu-
tion, to the ordinary reel-tops, especially
those on the commoner kinds of cotton.

Since writing the above we have received
an interesting cormnunication from a zealous
fellow-collector in New York, who writes us
that although he collects everything per-
taining directly or indirectly to postage
stamps, yet he has not been " rash enough
to go in for physic stamps, or beer stamps,
or war envelopes." Though he possesses a
goodly collection of proprietary stamps, given
to hirn from time to time by a druggist, yet
he uses them only as a bait to catch postage
stamps.

He then goes on to say that the system
of proprietary stamps is in reality a stamp
duty of one cent on an article of the price of
25 cents ; or a duty of four per cent, on the
price. " On playing cards the duty is five

cents on every package. What any other
values have reference to I do not know,
unless that at first the cards were taxed ac-
cording to their retail price ; or else that im-
ported cards are so taxed.

"A private proprietary stamp is a privilege
to the individual. He may choose the de-
sign or colours, or designate so many values,
but the government has supreme control
over the plate, paper, and printing of the
stamps, just as it has over its own stamps,
and the stamps must be ordered from the
government and paid for by the individual.
Furthermore, the government will not allow
an individual a private stamp unless he can
order a certain number — 5000, if I mistake
not."

He concludes by saying that the internal
revenue stamps, including all proprietary
stamps, will not last much longer. Like the
postage stamp currency they will become a
thing of the past.

OBLITERATION MARKS (MATA-
SELLOS) ON SPANISH STAMPS.

BY DON MAKIANO PARDO FIGUEROA.

(Read before the London Philatelic Society).

The following information, which I sub-
mit to the correction of those better ac-
quainted with the subject, is all I have been
able to acquire. It is very difficult to fix
the date at which each obliteration com-
menced, as but little is published in Spain in
reference to such matters. With the excep-
tion of one (A) all these different obliterating
marks are in use at the present time.

I can understand the little importance of
these remarks, as I am unable to include a
description, of the postmarks of Cuba and
of the Philippine Islands ; but I hope the
London Philatelic Society will value my
good wishes more than the intrinsic merit of
this paper, which I dedicate to them.

A catalogue of all the obliterations which
have been, and are still in use in every
country, with facsimile drawings showing
the colour of the ink, and the time each was
in use, would, I believe, be worthy of the
attention of the Philatelic Society; for, as Dr.
John Edward Cray says, " the study of the
means employed for this simple purpose

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

affords an interesting object of contempla-
tion."

(A.)— Years 1850-1.
■ — It was only during
these two years that the
obliterating mark A was
employed. Although
black ink was generally
used, these stamps are
occasionally found ob-
literated wdth red ink,
as on some six cuartos. This notwithstand-
ing that by order of the General Post-office,
under date the 4th September, 1852, only
black ink was to be used.

(B.)— Year 1852.— This
obliterating mark is first
found on letters dated
1852, but is used up to
the present day in several
offices ; and notably in
that of Madrid, in which office also the one
marked C is still in use.

^ ^ (C.)— Years 1856-

7-8. — This postmark
was employed during
these three years, but
made its appearance
asrain in Madrid in
1871.

(D.)— 15th October,

1858.— This postmark,

which came first in use

at that time, is still used

ia several post-offices,

notably in those of

Toledo, Santa Cruz, de

Tenerife, Tarancon, &c.

The number changes

according to the different towns ; Madrid, 1 ;
Cadiz, 3 ; Seville, 7 ; Alicante, 9 ; &c, &c.
The annexed engraving is not thoroughly
O accurate. Of the four figures 3 in
CC'^CO the margin, only those at the top
w and bottom should be upright.
The position of the four may best be indi-
cated by the annexed type-set illustration.

(E.) — By order of the General Post-office,
14th September, 1857, letters received at the
branch offices, and which did not go to the
central office, but passed through to another

branch office, were to be obliterated by a
common pen-and-ink cross.

(P.)— Tear 1859.—
Ordered by the General

Post-office, 25th Novem-
ber, " The post-office
which has not a special
seal to obliterate post
stamps, will do so by
affixing the date." This
was in reality done before the publication of
the above order, as witness the stamp in the
margin, which reads s. LUCAE la M., 25 mar.,
'59, sevilla — " San Lucar la mayor, 25 Marza,
1859, Sevilla."

(C).— 1862. This mark
is generally used at the
present time in almost
all the principal post-
offices in Spain. The
number changes accord-
ing to the town, as in
the case of D.

(H).— Year 1870. This
obliteration I have only
** ft^^^ seen on letters from San-
l\ ^ _ J tiago, province of Cor-
^*^^^^ unna ; and I cannot learn
the meaning of the let-
ters A. S.*
[Since the above paper was read in Lond< in,
Senor Pardo de Fin'uoroa lias published in the
Averiguador for 1872 (Nos. 29, 30, 31, 32,
and 35) a much longer and fuller a Hide on
Spanish obliterations, which he purposes
reprinting as a separate pamphlet. The
above brief sketch should therefore be re-
garded as merely a preliminary attempt.]

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

Le Timbre Posfe.- — The current number con-
tains a timely word of warning from the
editor, respect Lug certain false stamps which
have just made their appearance, ami which
possess certain particularities of a nature to
render probable their acceptance by unsus-
pecting collectors. In the first place there
is a series of provisional Tuscans printed on
paper bearing the genuine official watermark.

*[A correspondent suggests that they stand fur "Ad-
ministration of Santiago." — Ed.]

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

How the forgers could have obtained pos-
session of a supply of the true watermarked
paper is a puzzle, but that they have done so
is proved by the issue of counterfeits of all
the values, including the very rare 3 lire.
The latter is printed in too bright an orange,
and all the imitations may be detected on
comparison with a genuine stamp of any
value, from 1 to 80 centesimi, by the too
great distinctness of the details of the en-
graving. The forgeries exist both used and
unused. The used .stamps are obliterated
with six parallel black bars, and some of
these misleading1 forgeries are mounted on
letter-paper, folded to imitate the outside of
a letter, and stamped with a date-stamp.
" From Madrid," our contemporary goes on
to say, " we have received other and more
dangerous imitations, viz. : —

1851, 2 and 6 reales.

1852 (bear), 3 cuartos.

1853, 2 and 6 reales.

1854, 2 cuartos and 6 reales.
and other values, perhaps, exist. These
stamps, acccording to Dr. Magnus, have been
obtained by direct lithogi"aphic transfers
from the originals. The imitations of the
1851 stamps are the least successful. A
slight defect in the drawing of the nose gives
quite a different aspect to the queen's face.
Their colour condemns them all, excepting
the 2 cuartos., which has been copied to per-
fection. The blue stamps are of a dirty blue,
generally very dark, whilst the orange
stamps are of too pale and dull a shade ; as
to the 3 cuartos, to give it an old look it is
printed on paper of a slightly greenish tint.
All of them show the postmark in use at the
time the stamps were current. Dr. Magnus
thinks these forgeries were fabricated (whilst
the originals were in circulation) with a view
to cheat the government, and not collectors ;
but M. Moens' information from Madrid is,
that these old stamps have just been imitated.
In any case, as he says, they were intended
to deceive some one, and we cannot too
promptly echo his warning."

The description of newly-issued forgeries
is followed by a reply to the letter from Mr.
Panopoulo, recently published in these pages.
The article is replete with inuendos, but is
open to the same objection as the preceding

one on the same subject, namely, that no
positive proof is given that the Morton
stamps are a private speculation of Mr.
Panopoulo's. To set the matter at rest, cor-
roborative evidence of their bond-fide employ-
ment is desirable, and such evidence it ought
not to be difficult for Mr. Panopoulo to
obtain.

Dr. Magnus's paper on stamped envelopes
succeeds the Morton stamp controversy, and
the present instalment treats of the envelope
essays for France, prepared by the renowned
engraver, M. Barre. These essays were sub-
mitted to the government, and, as existing
specimens testify, were of great beauty.
They were ultimately rejected in consequenc&
of the objections made by certain adversaries
of the system of embossing*.

The March number closes with a notice
from the editor and publisher, in re the
Russian local stamps, which some jealous
competitor insinuates are spurious. We can
fully confirm M. Moens' assertion that these
stamps are official and bond-fide emissions.

Leu Gazette des Timbres. — The February and
March numbers contain instalments of an
article on, and analytical list of, the post card
issues of all countries, whence we extract
the following interesting sketch of the rapid
adoption of post cards by nearly all the
European states.

It was in Austria, on the 1st October, 1869, that the
first card appeared, and on the following 1st Novem-
ber Hungary enjoyed the same advantage. Germany
adopted them on the 1st July, 1S70. The kingdoms of
Bavaria and Wurtemburg and the Grand Duchy of Baden
followed the example of the North German Confederation,
and during the war of 1870-71 the field posts of the differ-
ent countries supplied to the soldiers and to their families
special cards, of which the advantages were recognized by
everyone. Luxembourg issued hers the. 1st September,
1871 ; and Great Britain on the 1st October, at the same
time that she reduced the rate for letters for the interior
to one penny [?]. Switzerland at the same period adopted
the post card, and was followed by Belgium and Holland,
on the 1st January, 1871; Denmaik on the 1st of April ;
Canada in the course of the year; Chili on the 23rd De-
cember, 1871 ; Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway early
in 1872 ; and Ceylon in the course of the same year. But
at the beginning of that year a further improvement was
introduced, that of reply-paid cards, issued in the first
instance by Germany, and adopted later on by Holland
(June, 1S?2), Belgium, Sweden, and Luxembourg (1st
January, 1873.)

The instalments of the " Minor Gazette "
are occupied with the details of Dr. Magnus's
receipt for the preparation of a blank album,

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

which lie recommends alike for beginners
and advanced collectors. The author admits
that ready-prepared albums possess this
advantage, that the ruled squares teach the
novice the stamps he should procure, and if
space were given in such albums for only
o ie set of each series, they might render
greater service. Ruled and designed albums
can only suit restricted collections, and to
attempt to compose them for more extensive
collectors, is, in the opinion of Dr. Magnus
(and our own), to prepare the way for many
inconveniences to the amateur who cannot
decide -.on the value of the innumerable
varieties to which his attention is called.

The Stamp-Collector'' s Guide. — This paper
has .reappeared under new management, and
is likely to acquire a higher position than
that enjoyed by the first issue. The number
before us contains an interesting " Philatelic '
Review," by Mr. C. H. Coster, in which he
discusses the lately-mooted question, "What
is a Postage Stamp ? " aird argues in favour
of the acceptance of too-late, official, and
registered stamps (excepting only such
registered stamps as are used merely as
seals), and of the rejection of returned-
letter and unpaid-letter stamps, Avhich last
appear to him to have no postal significance.

The leading article contains a good-
humoured apology for the lack of method, or,
in other words, the superficiality of the
American style of collecting, and also for the
grammatical slips which are so frequent in
the composition of American philatelical
writers. "We Americans," says the editor,
" are a very live people ; we do everything on
the high-pressure principle. Stamp collect-
ing did not and does not tame us. We
handle that as we do everything else, with a
rush. It must be confessed," he continues,
" that Americans are more ardent than con-
stant. We are spasmodic. One day we are
wide awake on philately, the next day we
are about something else. But with all our
changeableness, most of us keep our col-
lections, and are again and again drawn
back to the 'old love.' And so philately
holds its own. There are no signs of deca-
dence. It is on the increase." Then as to
the style of writing : — " If an American phi-
latelist has an idea or a news item which,

communicated to his fellow collectors, would
be of value, he jots it down in an off-hand
ready manner, and ofttimes leaves Ids gram-
mar open to criticism. We want to apologise

for such cases. People more nice than wise
will sometimes criticise such writings malici-
ously and needlessly. It is far better thai a
good idea be published, even if couched in
language not strictly rhetorical [?] than that
idea be lost. It is characteristic of us to be
hasty and get over much ground in little
time. Hence we are not always as thorough
as might be ; but we enjoy as greatly, and in
the long run make as much out of, what we
do as any people." We must say we like the
hearty spirit in which these suggestions are
put, and are willing to admit their possession
of a certain plausibility ; still we are not
satisfied that American stamp publications
should be characterised by a disregard of
grammatical rules ; nor can we admit that
the original ideas they contain are of sufficient
value to excuse faults which, with a little
attention, might easily be avoided. "Pretty
fair, considering it's written by an American "
would be rather a humiliating critique. Let
us hasten to add that it would not be appli-
cable to the magazine under review-, which is
honourably distinguished from certain of its
confreres both by the style and the matter.

Following the leading article comes the
pertinent query — "Did anybody ever see an
unequivocally genuine postmarked specimen
of either of the 'local stamps' -of the
' Westervelt post,' which are claimed to be
genuine locals?" A contributor to these
pages last year declared that this post was a
bond-fide one, founding his belief on a state-
ment made to him by the proprietor, and on
an inspection of used specimens. We still
have our own doubts, however, on the sub-
ject, and should require very positive proof
to convince us of the genuineness of the
Westervelt stamps.

The article on new issues is well illustrated,
and opens with a description and engraving
of a lately-discovered Philadelphian local —
the Stait's Despatch Post. The design con-
sists of a double-lined circle, with STAIT's
DESPATCH running round the inner edge, and
paid in a straight line at the bottom. The
address, s. THIRD STREET, in two lines, occu-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

pies the centre. The sole known specimen is
a handstruck impression, colour brick-red,
and is struck on a circular letter. It is
believed to have been in use for two months
only, its suppression having been operated by
the post-office authorities at the same time
that Blood's offices were closed. Further
particulars are promised respecting this
stamp, which appears to be a bond-fide one.
Communication is also promised of " some
interesting facts " respecting the 1 c. Con-
federate, and the last noteworthy item in the
number before us is the statement that the
well-known New York dealer, Mr. W. P.
Brown (who by the way has just commenced
reissuing his Curios it// Cabinet), is about to
proceed to Japan, there to join his father,
the Rev. Nathan Brown, D.D., who is en-
gaged in translating the Bible into Japanese.
We wish Mr. Brown all possible success ;
and as the inhabitants of Japan are such apt
imitators of European fashion, we trust he
will succeed in rendering philately popular
amongst them.

The Curiosity Hunter. — This journal, which
is published at Rockf ord, Illinois, has attained
its sixth number. We have refrained from
noticing it earlier as, although a well-written
publication, it contained but an infinitesimal
proportion of stamp news. In the number
before us there is, however, a marked increase
in the quantity, coupled with a promise of
greater attention to the philatelic department.
Inter alia, we have a letter from an American
collector of note, Mr. W. K. Freeman, re-
specting the first issue of Natal, in which he
states that he has received a number of
original unused specimens of that issue, the
remainder of the stock of an inland post-office
in the colony, "through the kindness of the
manager of the ' Missionary House,' Pember-
ton Square, Boston." Then follows a notice
of sundry new emissions, and scraps of postal
information, one of which is worth extracting.
It reads thus : —

Unpaid letters, as everybody knows, arc not delivered
by the post-office authorities, but advertised. Now it oc-
curred to Mr. John G. Chapman, a New Haven grain
dealer, that some of these letters would be of value to the
parties to whom they are addressed, and that a chance was
afforded to the said Chapman, to advertise his business ; so
he went to the post-office just before the letter lists were
to be sent to the papers,' and affixed to each letter its
proper stamp, together with another neat little label

bearing his name and business address, with the added
suggestion that he had paid the postage, and would be
happy to receive any return in the way of business
patronage, in case the letter should be of value to the
recipient. This practice he has continued ever since last
April, and he has profited largely by it. In nine cases
out of ten his stamps have been returned to him, and
have frequently been accompanied by more substantial
favours.

The Philatelist. — Last, but decidedly not
least, and last only by accident, our old friend
comes before us looking as sound and healthy
as ever, with a three-page list of novelties, a
continuation of the editor's catalogue of
telegraph stamps, and the 24th Spud Paper.
In the latter two very fair forgeries are de-
scribed,— the new Mexican, and the first
Deccan. The Mexican forgery may be de-
tected from its showing only one outer line,
which is border, frame, and all ; whilst in the
genuine there is a second or finishing one,
although it is put so close to the design that
it runs into the edges of the labels and
corners ; these are consequently thickened
on the outer parts, whereas the forgery shows
a line of uniform thickness everywhere. In
the Deccan forgery the network at the base
is formed of two lines of meshes (the upper
one incomplete, certainly, but still there) ;
but the genuine only possesses a single row,
very clear and beautifully done. Mr. Pem-
berton gives a further test, but we cannot
quite make out where the three rows of
meshes running "vertically" are situate; to us
all the hues of meshes appear to run hori-
zontally.

STAMP-COLLECTING IN GABLONZ.

BY illi. MAX JOSEVII.

I have pleasure in acquainting the readers
of The Stamp-Oullecto) '»• Magazine with a fact,
of which, probably, none are yet aware.
Stamp-collecting has found its way into the
remote valleys of the Giant's mountains.

A few days ago, about noon, I was strolling
through the streets of Gablonz, win m passing
the school-house, I beheld a large gathering
of boys — a by no means usual sight, seeing
that it still wanted an hour to the beginning
of the lessons. Imagine my surprise, when,
on approaching them, I perceived thai they
were exchanging postage stamps, just in the
same way as I witnessed ten years ago, iu

TIIE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

some alley of Comliill, of which I do not rec< il-
lect the name. There was, however, one differ-
ence; I missed the policemen who used to dis-
turb the boys with their continual " Move on."
Here, in fact, on the contrary, our urban
policeforce appears to protect stamp-collect-
ing; for only the other day one of the two
"policemen of the town"" entered my office,
and desired me to give him some foreign
stamps for his own boy. Is it not evident
that the poor mountaineers have a better
notion of the usefulness of stamp-collecting,
than had the city police ten years ago? I
need not assure you that the man did not
leave me unsatisfied, but I acted unwisely in
acceding to his desire, for since that time my
office has been beleaguered by boys of all
ages, who eagerly inquire for stamp-, and will
take no denial.

I may be permitted to suppose, without
disrespect to my readers, that most of them
are ignorant of what kind of place Grablonz is,
and where situated. Allow m.3 to tell them
that it is a little, but very industrious town
(of ah nit 6000 inhabitants) on the Neisse.
in that part of the Giant's mountains called
Erzgebirge, eightEnglish miles from Reichen-
berg. The products of the place consisting
chiefly in Bohemian glass goods of all kinds,
and fancy articles — which, by the way, will he
represented on a large scale in the Vienna
exhibition — are celebrated all over the globe.
There is hardly a spot on the inhabited earth,
to which they are not exported; they arc
carried even into countries in central Africa.
where probably no European traveller has
ever set his foot. You would be astonished
to hear of the enormous quantities of glass
baads, finger-rings, &c, shipped to Alex-
andria, Senegal, Angola, etc.. to be taken
into the interior by caravans, and of the
mock jewelry forwarded to East India and
Smith America. Of course the correspond-
ence of the many commercial firms estab-
lished in Grablonz (amongst which there are
several English) is very extensive ; and many
of the lads here easily get stamps that were
counted amongsl tin' rarest in the firsl
period of collecting, such as .Montevideo,
Buenos Ayres, Mexico. Brazil, &c.

Gablonz, although a very little place (up
to the year 1866 it Avas only a hamlet),

possesses many of the distinctive character-
istics of larger towns : the last, hut nol the
least of them (and certainly the most original ).
is the stamp exchange, the establishment
of which certainly does not accord with the
ignorant assertions of those who will have
it that stamp-collecting is on the decline.

NEWLY-ISSUED OR IXEDITED

STAMPS.

THERE is a decided lack of novelties this
month, at any rate up to the moment of com-
mencing the present article. We must. then,
rest, and be thankful to chronicle such small
fry as have been caught in the philatelic net.
Ei;a\ci-:.- -The number of varieties which
may be distinguished among the post cards
is something astonishing when we consider
that they belong to a country which has
always been remarkable for the accuracy
and uniformity of its stamps. Some of these
varieties are of inferior interest ; such, tor
instance, as those which arc formed from the
apposition of the b» c. stamp in the upright
oblong inscribed "place for two 5 c. stamp-."'
or from the suppression of this latter in-
scription. Others are more worthy of notice.
as, for instance, the 10 c. and 15 e. cards, with
a border of a new design, and the words prix
10 (or 15) CENTIMES added beneath the in-
scription, LOI DU "20 DECEMBRE, 1 872. Of
these latter the 10 c. is printed buff, whilst
the 15 c. remains white. The explanation of
these and other minor differences no doubt
lies in the fact that the post-office, being un-
able to print off a sufficient number of cards
on its own premises, has contracted with one
or more private firms for the printing of a
certain quantity, and that these firms, not
being bound to conform strictly to the official
pattern, have placed such bordering as they
may happen to have in stock round the in-
scription. The supereession of the oblong,
intended for two stamps, by a rectangle, con-
taining space for one only, is no doubl the
consequence of the issue of the b> c. stamp.
No harm can arise from the multiplication
of types, inasmuch as the printed inscrip-
tions have no value in themselves New
cards, with impressed stamps, arc said to be
in course of preparation, and the proof of a

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

proposed design, is described by our Brussels
contemporary.

There is an unofficial variety of tbe 10 c.
post card in existence which is not without
interest. The back of the card is bordered
with advertisements, printed in red, and the
space whicb they enclose, intended to re-
ceive the sender's communication, is covered
with a ground of red lines. These cards are
sold at a sou each, or only half the official
price ; and it appears the Parisian public has
not been slow to appreciate the advantage
offered by this reduction of fifty per cent.
The tobacco shop on the Place de l'Opera,
which sold from ten to fifteen ordinary cards
at 10 centimes eacb per day, now sells from
1500 to 1800. The post-office of the Made-
leine, which used to receive 150 to 200 cards
per day, has received from seven to eight
hundred since the sou cards have been put on
sale. Of course it will be understood that
the gentleman (a Mr. Grenie) who buys the
cards at 10 centimes, and sells them again to
the public at 5 c, does not do so from any
disinterested desire to prove the good results
which would follow an official reduction in
price ; his loss on the cards is more than
covered by his gain on the advertisements.
Some officious meddler endeavoured to stop
the sale, but has had to desist from the
attempt, the right of printing at the back of
the cards having been admitted by the
Journal Ojfliciel. The idea of using post
cards as an advertising medium is not in
principle a new one. When the Mulready
envelopes came out, thirty odd years ago,
they were employed by speculators in the
same way, and the letter-writing public
gained the benefit.

Spain. — The Philatelist, following in tbe
wake of the Paris magazine, gives publicity
to the report that a postage stamp has been
issued by the- Carlists, of which, according
to a Bayonne correspondent, tbe design is
as follows : Large rectangle ; imperforate ;
watermarked Math a single-lined fleur-de-lis.
Full-faced portrait of Don Carlos in central
pearled circle, resting on a knot of ribbons,
on which is the word paz (peace) ; oak and
olive branches on either side. Diagonal rays
in the upper spandrels. On a white frame,
enclosing the portrait, &c, are CORREOS at

the sides ; franco below ; espano unida
above, separated by the arms of Spain ; all
in bright violet. The impression is light
mauve ; portrait black. The letter c is at
the end of the ribbons. This stamp, says
our contemporary in conclusion, is used for
franking letters for the troops, and for all
communications from head-quarters. We
cannot say the description is much in favour
of the authenticity of the pretended stamp.
As far as we are aware, the Carlists have as
yet made no pretence of establishing regular
postal communications, even in tbe districts
in whicb they are most at home. We pos-
sess, it is true, two stamps emanating from
the Carlist army (for which we have to ex-
press our obligations to Don Pardo de Pigu-
eroa), but they are hand-struck impressions,
in blue ink, something like the Cungreso and
Senado stamps, and bear the arms of Don
Carlos, and inscriptions indicating that they
emanate from the " military commandment."
Even these are simply official marks, and not
postage stamps. If the design described by
The Philatelist were intended to frank corres-
pondence for or from the Carlist insurgents
it might be supposed that some inscription
indicative of the fact would appear on the
stamp. So far, however, from there being
any siich legend, we find merely tbe very
ironical inscription — j?eace. There is no
value stated, yet it is hardly probable the
Carlists would go to the expense of es-
tablishing posts for nothing. Moreover, the
impression is rather ambiguously described.
In one line we are told that it is all in
bright violet, and in the next that the portrait
is black and the rest mauve !

Guatemala. — The annexed engraving is
that of the one peso green, of the doubtful
series referred to last month. It will be re-
membered that on the first
appearance of this and its
companion stamps, in
1869, they were condemn-
ed as spurious. Specimens
are now coming over on
leti ers ; but it is supposed
that their postal employ-
ment is accidental or tem-
porary, and that they are in reabty revenue
stamps. The one peso yellow, recently men-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

tioned, lias been ascertained by M. Moens to
bear the same arms (black scroll, &c), as
the four reals mauve.

Russian Locals. — Dmitrieff (Kouvsk). — The
design of this stamp, though it does not re-
semble that of the state postage stamps, has
nothing to indicate that it belongs to a local
post, whilst the presence of the imperial
arms might lead to the supposition that the
stamp had been issued by the imperial
government ; and, according to the decree
which regulates the emission of locals, there
must be nothing on their face to authorise
such a supposition. It would be interesting
to know why the Dmitrieff district is allowed
to use the imperial arms, or why it has no
armorial bearings of its own. Pending the
reply which we hope to receive to this query,
let us chronicle the fact that the Dmitrieff
stamp is printed in black on white wove
paper, and is of the value of 3 kopecs.

Bogorodsh. — In Le Timbre-Poste we find an
instructive rectification of a popular error
as to the personage represented on the Bogo-
rodsk stamps, on horseback, trampling on a
dragon. We have always supposed this to
be St. George, and Dr. Magnus took it to be
St. Michael. This ancient byzantine em-
blem, it now appears, is intended to re-
present the czar as the propagator of
Christianity, and it was only by some mistake
that in 1727 it acquired the name of Saint
George. M. Moens' authority is a Mr. J.
Vandeimaelen, from whose "Historical Essay
on Arms " he quotes a passage in support of
the foregoing statement.

Danish West Indies. — The three cents
carmine, which has dragged on its solitary
existence for thirteen years, has at length been
joined by a second value, a 4 c. ultramarine
on white, perforated. The sole difference
between the two stamps consists in the figure
of value. The watermark of the 3 c. is re-
peated on the new comer. It is rather a dis-
appointment to find that choice has not been
made of a new type, similar to that adopted
by the mother country ; but perhaps it is
desired to perpetuate the currency of the
original Danish design. The current 3 c.
carmine will, it is said, be issued perforated
as soon as the stock in hand is exhausted.

German Empire. — Pursuant to a notice of

the Berlin General Post-office, dated 3rd
March, 1873, private persons can now send
their own envelopes to the office, to be
stamped with any of the values of the ex-
isting adhesive series, but not less than a thou-
sand of each value must be ordered, and the
government charge for stamping that num-
ber is 7\ groschen. The two | groschen
envelopes chronicled by us some time since,
must have been struck in anticipation of the
forthcoming decree (prior to the issue of
which, only 1 gr. envelopes were stamped to
order), and it appears that all the other
values are in existence. The formalities
to be complied with by persons who
send envelopes for stamping are the same
as in this country, except that no re-
striction is placed on the colour of the
paper! The liberty of choice of colour has,
we believe, already been used and abused by
German stamp speculators, who are pro-
ceeding to multiply tints and shades as fast
as the post-office can fill their orders. The
varieties thus obtained are totally unworthy
of collection, and we trust a decided stand
will be made by English dealers and phil-
atelists against their admission. In this
instance, be it remembered, only the im-
pressed stamp is of official origin, and if it
be deemed necessary to possess evidence of
the facility for stamping which has just been
offered by the German post-office, a single
copy of each value is surely sufficient for the
purpose. We, for our part, under the cir-
cumstances, should prefer copies which have
passed the post. We must not omit to
mention that bands for printed matter are
also stamped to order with the \ gr. and
1 kr. stamps.

The companion to the recently-noticed
\ groschen post card — the 2 kreuzer — has
made its appearance. It is identical with
the former in all respects except the value.
The Philatelist states, however, that the
specimens of the 2 kr. which it has received
are all paler in colour than the | gr., and the
letters consequently appear thinner than
those of the groschen value, but this (it
observes) may be accidental.

Great Britain. — We have been favoured
by an esteemed correspondent with a sight of
a specimen sixpenny stamp of the current

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

type, printed a greyish-green, of exactly the
same shade as the existing 9(3 c. Hongkorg.
A supply in the new colour is to be issued on
this 1st of April, and it will officially super-
sede the preceding deep brown and pale
brown impressions.

United States. — The annexed cut repre-
sents a stamp found by our friend Mr.
Tiffany among his correspondence, upon a
letter dated the 10 ih
July, 1847, and com-
municated by him
to Le Tlmbre-Posfe.
It is printed in black
on the ordinary buff
paper, of a tint simi-
lar to that of the old
United States enve-
lopes, is cut round,
as shown in the en-
graving, and fastened to the letter by
means of a wafer. Besides the label, the
letter also bears an ordinary date-stamp struck
by hand, and inscribed Alexandria, d. c.
(District of Columbia, to which the town of
Alexandria then belonged), a large figure in
a rectangle, and the word paid. Mr. Tiffany
sends the stamp just as he found it, and is
unable to say whether it has been cut from
an envelope, or clipped round through a
whim of the sender. He hopes soon to be
able to furnish further particulars. We
confess ourselves to being rather puzzled as
to the postal value of this stamp. The date
above mentioned is posterior to the issue of the
first series of government stamps, and it seems
hardly possible that in the district of Columbia,
close by the capital itself, any difficulty could
have been experienced in getting a supply of
the latter. Moreover, it would appear that
the word paid, and the figure in a rectangle,
formed the official evidences of prepayment.
In short, the inscriptions on the label are all
found repeated on the postmarks struck on
the letter. In reply to these conjectures, the
absence of the government adhesive, coupled
with the fact that other post-offices did at
that period issue stamps of their own for the
convenience of the public, may be urged
with considerable effect. We must, therefore,
suspend judgment until the information
which Mr. Tiffany hopes to obtain arrives.

Another stamp, of uncertain value, was
recently chronicled by Le Timbre-Poste. Its de-
sign is here represented.
The only known copy
is handstruck in a dull
dark blue, on the cover
of a letter from Hunts-
ville (Alabama), dated
"5 Sept." We are en-
tirely of M. Moens' opin-
ion, that this mark is not
a postage stamp, but simply an official post-
mark, possibly, to some extent, indicative of
payment. The circle of stars is also evidently
a mere ornament, without any emblematic
meaning.

New Zealand. — A correspondent has
kindly sent us, by the mail just arrived, a
specimen of a new stamp for this colony.
It is for newspaper postage, and of the value
of one halfpenny. In design it somewhat
resembles the English halfpenny adhesive,
but it is rectangular in shape, and has an
inscribed marginal label above and scroll
beneath the portrait, which is in a plain
oval, with value (^d.) on each side. It bears
the inscription new Zealand newspaper post-
age, is printed in pink on white paper, and
perforated. Next month we will give an
engraving of this novelty.

We have been favoured with a sight
of the queer stamp which has been dubbed
with the title of the " abnormal New
Zealand." It is, in fact, the result of a
very unusual error or accident in printing.
The sheet from which it was cut must have
been shifted whilst under the press, and
hence a kind of double impression. With
the first stroke of the press, which must have
been a faint one, the upper margin and
the inscription new Zealand were printed, to-
gether with some faint outlines of the
portions beneath ; the paper must have then
been drawn back and moved slightly to the
left, and the lower half of the design printed
with the second stroke. The consequence is
a stamp almost square, about three quarters
of the length of an ordinary impression, with
a blurred oval centre, in which the bust, as
far up as the necklace, can be clearly made
out, and with top and bottom inscriptions
perfectly legible. The shifting of the paper

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

to the left is shown by the fact that the
lower portion of the design is struck to the
left of the upper. The colour, the star
watermark, and the gum are all those of an
ordinary stamp, but the presence of a New
South Wales postmark — N. S. w. — in the
middle of three concentric ovals, is difficult
to account for. The opinion of Sir Daniel
Cooper is that probably the newspaper from
which this stamp was detached was posted
too late to receive the New Zealand post-
mark (say, on board the mad steamer), and
was consequently not obliterated until its
arrival at Sydney. Its possessor argues,
and, as it seems to us, with much reason,
that at least a row, if not the whole sheet ful
of stamps must have been composed of these
" abnormals."

Sw i tzerland. — A newspaper wrapper stamp
of the design here figured has been in use
since the 1st of February of
this year. It is struck in re-
lief to the left, and a broad
line in rose runs along the up-
per and lower edges of the
wrapper. The impression is
in rose, and the value 2 cent-
imes. There is also a 5 c. of
the same type and colour, and a 5 e. post
card is said to exist; but this we doubt.
The entire absence of inscription renders
this design an almost unique one.

Turkey. — The emission of a new series of
stamps at Constantinople is, it appears, being
discussed, the stock of the existing type
being almost exhausted, and the supply of
envelopes having already disappeared com-
pletely.

T. B. Morton 8f Go. — We are informed by
Mr. Panopoulo that Messrs. Morton, having
withdrawn their steamers from the line be-
tween the Black Sea, the Danube, and Con-
stantinople, their postal service has conse-
quently ceased to exist, and their stamps are
obsolete.

Austria. — The use of post cards has been
extended to the Levant, the Austrian branch
offices there and in other parts of Turkey
being now provided with cards bearing an
impression of the current adhesive type,
in rose, value 4 soldi, by which communica-
tions can be sent from one office to another

in Turkey, and also from any office in Turkey
to any part of Germany. The card is like
the ordinary Austrian, and hears the Italian
inscription. The Austrian post-office, we
may here appropriately add, is said to he in
negotiation with the Turkish government for
the establishment of bra neh posts al Scutari,
and in other towns in Albania and Bosnia.

Luxembourg. — New unstamped yellow, red,
and solferino coloured post cards, with Ger-
man inscription, printed in black, have mail':
their appearance; and similar cards, witli
French inscriptions are to be issued, the
whole to be finally followed by cards hearing
impressed 5 c. stamps. The unstamped
cards just out are of both kinds, single and
reply-paid. By an official notice, it appears
that rural letter carriers, when delivering
a reply-paid card, may wait for a period not
exceeding five minutes for the reply.

We have just received the 20 c. printed in
a dark greyish brown, a shade which con-
trasts strongly with the former warm red-
dish brown of this stamp.

Chili. — Our Valparaiso correspondent in-
forms us that shortly before the loth January
two more values of the new envelope series
came into use, viz., the 10 centavos on yellow
tinted, and the 15 c. on white paper; both
full sized envelopes; and on the same day
the 5 c. note size was issued on yellow tinted
paper. In a postscript to his letter (which
is dated the :!lst January), our correspond-
ent states that he has just seen the 5 c. on
white and on yellow, large size ; and. he adds.
the supply of the 5 c. on blue and on white
is for the present exhausted. The entire
supply of the 2 c. and 2<> c. (of which fewest
were ordered), was lost in the Tacorai

Norway. — A 2 shilling envelope has been
issued; impressed stamp (same as the ad-
hesive) to right, and the same flap ornament
(lion within a crowned shield) as on the 3 sk.
envelope.

NEWFOUNDLAND. — Our Brussels contempo-
rary states that on this 1st April post cards
and a new 3 c. adhesive are to make their
appearance.

Iceland. — On the authority of our Brighton
contemporary, we chronicle, by anticipation,
the appearance of a 8 shilling stamp on this
1st of April.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Bavatcia. — The same journal states that an
unstamped reply-paid card for this country
has been issued, with black inscriptions on
green.

A NOVEL RACE.

FROM "ALL THE YEAR ROUND."

It might, perhaps, have been thought that
the ingenuity of man had been so thoroughly
ransacked that a new description of race was
almost an impossibility ; but it has been
reserved for the enterprising gentleman who
rejoices in spiky moustaches and the title of
the People's Caterer, to demonstrate the
contrary.

A postman's race was the other day an-
nounced to take place at North Woolwich
Gardens, over a three-hundred-yards course,
planted with trees at a distance of about ten
yards from each other ; to each tree was to
be affixed a number, a knocker, and a letter-
box, and the men being started in heats of
four (each man provided with the same
number of letters), the duty of each com-
petitor was to deliver the regulation post-
man's knock at each tree, drop a letter in
the box, and, getting over the ground as
rapidly as possible, either by running or
walking, to return to the starting-post. To
prevent this curious race from resolving
itself into a mere trial of speed — instead of
speed and accuracy combined — the whole
sixty letters representing the number of leafy
houses to be called at in going and return-
ing, were not to be served out to each man,
but a dozen letters were to be withdrawn
at random from each batch, while a single
false delivery among the forty-eight remain-
ing numbers was to distance the unfortunate
blunderer. Prizes were to be given to the
winner of the grand heat, the winners of
the trial heats, and also to the second and
third in each heat.

The novelty of the event, and the pecu-
liarly business-like character of the arrange-
ment, attracted my attention, and it was
with some surprise that I discovered a para-
graph going the round of the papers, not
only stating that the chiefs of the postal
department declined to smile official sanc-
tion on the undertaking, but were throwing

as much cold water upon it as possible. That
the authorities should decline to take any
trouble about the matter was conceivable
enough, but it appeared to your contributor
that they certainly travelled out of the re-
cord in administering a public snubbing to
the projector. A postman when he gets a
holiday — no very frequent occurrence — has
clearly as good a right to attend a race, or
even to take part therein, as any other
citizen.

Entertaining some grave doubts as to the
probable effect of the official wet blanket
thrown over the project, I betake myself on
a fine summer afternoon to Penchurch Street
Station, and proceed to discover North
Woolwich Gardens. Although some thou-
sands of people are there present, there is plenty
of room for everybody. The blue uniforms
of the postmen pervade the entire gardens,
and the wives and families, the friends and
adherents of those honest fellows, muster
strongly. The swings are doing a roaring-
trade, and the proprietor of a huge iron round-
about, of the bicycle order of architecture,
can hardly accommodate the numerous cus-
tomers, who seem hugely to appreciate the
fun of working" very hard to spin — like
horizontal squirrels — round in a circle.

The simple, jovial holiday-makers, in
short, are getting on very well, and the
laughter of merry children rings sweetly in
the summer air, especially at the blissful
moment when a huge tray arrives laden with
fragrant tea, mighty heaps of shrimps in
their ruddy brown armour, whole forests of
green water-cresses, and bread-and-butter
galore.

But the postmen entered for the race are
beginning to collect at the end of the course
— the dark blue uniforms gradually sifting
themselves out of the crowd of merry-
makers— and come to the front with the air
of men who have a great undertaking before
them. Some few of the competitoi's have
gone to the length of laying aside their
uniform altogether, and attired in jerseys, •
with over-coats tied round then' necks by
the sleeves in the approved athletic style,
contrive, by their would-be pedestrian get-
up, to slightly mar the symmetry of some of
the races.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

The People's Caterer and his merry men
are busily employed clearing the course, and
the general public relinquish with evident
reluctance, the new and delightful amuse-
ment of trying the different knockers, a sport
which has kept many youths and maidens
in high good humour during the after-
noon, and heavily taxed the powers of much-
enduring paterfamilias in raising his olive
branches to the level of the coveted noise-
producer. The course is cleared at last ; the
trees, all duly accoutred with knocker, box,
and number, are counted, and preparations
are made for the start.

At last all is ready, and the four men
drawn in the first heat stand ready, each man
with his packet of cards in his hand. One
of these, the stalwart fellow in a grey jersey,
is a good specimen of that well-known
character in all racing matters — the litigious
competitor. He has been in great force all
the afternoon, asking endless questions, and
worrying the great caterer by propounding
to him knotty points as to disqualification,
the exact meaning of each and every one of
the conditions, the choice of umpires, and
such-like tough and uncomfortable subjects.
I have a great hope that he will be beaten ;
and my sympathies are undoubtedly with
the lithe young fellow in plain clothes, who
says nothing, but takes up his letters and
his position in silence.

The word is given, away they go, and at a
clipping pace. Rat-tat, rat-tat, rat-tat, the
air seems full of the postman's knock, so
rapidly do the rat-tats succeed each other.
The stout competitor, who went off with a
tremendous rush, is dropping into the rear
already, and his interesting family, craning
over the ropes to " see papa win," is doomed
to disappointment. I hope the discomfiture
of papa on this occasion will not shake the
faith of the family in its head. By Jove,
the litigious man is leading ; I can see his
detestable grey jersey well in front. They
have turned the corner, and are now racing
back, grey-jacket has lost the pride of place.
The quiet man leads; rat- tat, rat-tat, rat-tat;
grey-jacket makes a final effort, but the
quiet competitor wins in a canter.

The litigious man is placed second ; and,
true to the last, no sooner recovers his

breath than he lodges an object inn against
the winner for going on the wrong side of a
tree. The objector takes but little W his
motion though, for number one has gone
over the whole course, and delivered all his
letters correctly, so the objection is quietly
overruled. But the objector, though dis-
posed of officially, hovers about for hours in
a discontented manner, and putting on the
air of one who has been deeply wronged,
pounces like a sort of mail-carrying ancient
mariner upon any unfortunate wight who
may be weak enough to listen to the yarn of
the litigious one. The heats now follow each
other in rapid succession, and the interest is
well kept up by the crowd of families and
sympathisers. Meanwhile twilight falls
softly over the broad river; the lights gleam
brightly from the Woolwich shore ; the illu-
mination of the gardens commences ; music
strikes up on the platform, and dancing
begins; but my dancing days, like the post-
men's races, are things of the past, and,
stepping into a railway carriage, I am soon
once more in London's " seething cauldron."

THE PHILATELIC SOCIETY, LOXDOX.

A meeting was held at Dr. Viner's, on
Saturday, the 15th ultimo, at which the
president, the vice-president, and the Baron
Arthur de Rothschild, exhibited portions
of their magnificent collections before a full
attendance of admiring amateurs. One
large folio volume of the latter member's
contained, in most respects, an unrivalled
assortment of the essays, proofs, and va-
rieties of the stamps and envelopes of Gnat
Britain; which was matched with a similar
collection of Mr. Philbrick's. Two other
volumes of the Baron's feasted the eyes
with the emissions of some of the Soiitk
American States ; among which the red
tV centavo Peru, uncancelled impressions of
the yellow ditto, pages of varieties of the
Buenos Ayres ships, Ac, were conspicuous;
and a whole sheet of the 5 centavos of
Montevideo, showing the numerous errors
in situ. Among other curiosities, we re-
marked a pair of unsevered 2 reales Ecuador
stamps, presenting a peculiarity which has
escaped notice in our pages, of having the

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

two types, — viz., central circle, and broad
oval, — side by side. The African collections
of the president and vice-president were
much admired. In the latter we noticed a
variety of the penny Transvaal, both in red
and black, which has never yet been chroni-
cled in this or any other magazine. The
stamps, which appeared last year for the
first time, have the numerals in the upper
angles set in distinct frames. The pages of
varieties of the rarest early Mauritius im-
pressions, many of them uncancelled, ex-
hibited by the last-named gentlemen, were,
as the Scotch say, " a sight for sair een."
Mr. de Ysasi produced an amusing illustra-
tion of the carelessness of Spanish officials,
in the shape of an envelope posted at
Malaga, passing through Madrid, and reach-
ing London in due time ; but the Madrid
postmark bore a date two days later than
the time of arrival at its destination — say,
posted in Malaga, Feb. 18th, reaching Madrid
on the 22nd, and arriving in London on the
20th !

The next meeting is fixed for Saturday,
the 12th instant; the stamps of Ceylon, the
Straits Settlements, Hong Kong, and Shang-
hai, being chosen for exhibition and com-
parison.

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

Stamped Newspaper Wrappers. — After the 31st
ultimo, stamped newspaper wrappers will not be sold to
the public in smaller quantities than twelve, or multiples
of twelve. Concurrently with this change, the two
smaller-sized wrappers will be discontinued, the issue
being limited to the larger-sized wrapper of the dimen-
sions 12 inches by 5 inches. Tbe price for twelve wrappers
will be 6id.

Postage Envelopes of a Square Shape. — Postage
envelopes of a square shape, the dimensions of which are
4§ inches by 3 11-16 inches, will shortly be issued. They
will be sold to the public at the following prices : — One
for ljd. ; two for 2\<\. ; three for 3|d. ; four for 4kl. ;
6 'for 6fd. ; eight for 9d. ; twelve for Is. l|d. ; twenty -
four for 2s. 3d. ; and so on. The postage envelopes of the
smallest size, viz., 4 inches by 2j inches, will be dis-
continued.

Post Office Tea. — There has been formed a post-
office tea association, for the supply of pui-e and genuine
tea. The packets which this association sends out are
adorned with a rough imitation of the penny postage
stamp, reminding one somewhat of the Mauritius wood
blocks. Over the Queen's profile are the words post
office, in an arch ; in the lower margin tea; and in the
four angles are the letters P. o. — T. A. The idea of calling
the tea "post-office" tea is rather a novel one, and if ex-
tended might yield valuable additions to advertising no-

menclature. Thus we might have the sorter's sugar, the
letter-carrier's coffee, the post-office clerk's sauce, &c.
The last-named article might be appropriately adorned
with a vignette, showing the manufacturers in the act of
giving it to the public.

Sale of M. Berger-Levrault's Collection. — "We
understand that the fine collection of M. Berger-Levrault,
of Strasbourg, has recently passed into the hands of the
Baron Arthur de Rothschild and Mr. Philbrick, who have
made the acquisition jointly. This collection, commenced
when the pursuit was in its earliest stages, is remarkable
in many respects : more particularly for an almost un-
rivalled series of the colonies of Great Britain. It is very
strong, also, in uncut envelopes, and in the southern
states of Europe. We hear M. Berger-Levrault has
retained the portion which includes the French stamps, in
which he possesses some almost unique essays and speci-
mens : but the two gentlemen who thus will divide the
residue of the collection will be able, by adding its
treasures to their own, to make the latter beyond all
question at the head of the French and English collections
respectively.

Caution. — We have been favoured by Mr. Pemberton
with the sight of some forgeries of the 1854 y 55 Philip-
pines. The 10 cuartos is tolerably well imitated, and
might deceive semi-tyros. The points of difference are as
follows :

Genuine.
55 upright.
43| pearls, round and pretty

regular.
Lines of shading, thick.
Crown of head left white.
Coronet irregular.
Intense red.

Forgery.
55 sloping.
40 pearls, imperfect and

very irregular.
Lines thinner.
Head filled with lines.
Coronet regular.
Dull lake.

There are a 5 c. orange-buff, a 1 real indigo, and a
2 reales green, evidently from the selfsame type, values
excepted. These being nonexistent, in fact, none but the
veriest tyro need warning against the swindle. — The
'Philatelist,

" Postal Matter." — We have been informed that the
much-abused "irauking privilege" granted to the "states-
men " of America, is to be abolished from the 1st of July
nex.t. It was well understood that many Western legis-
lators, upon arriving at Washington, made extraordinary
use of their franking privilege. Thus, one representative
was convicted of sending his dirty linen back to his own
State to be washed, and of having it returned to him, when
clean, through the public mails. Kentucky members were
suspected of "franking" kegs of Bourbon whisky from
the Ohio to the Potomac; and Daniel Webster used to
tell a capital story of having dined with a Pennsylvania]!
"statesman" who interpreted "postal matter' as in-
cluding sucking pigs, upon one of which he entertained
his friends at dinner in Washington. The enormous use
of the franking privilege has long tended to make the
arrears of the post-office department exceptionally heavy.
For many years the late Horace Greeley never ceased to
lift up his voice at this "expensive absurdity"; and
honest men will rejoice to hear that after the 1st of next
July, it will be impossible to send sucking pigs or dirty
linen without charge through the American mails.

A Clerk's Pekquisites. — Mr. Parsons, in his testi-
mony before the investigating committee of the New York
Legislature, having declared that it had long been cus-
tomary to fee clerks of the Senate and Assembly, public
attention has been turned to tlie men who have occupied
these offices in previous years, and the curious fact is dis-
closed about J. B. Cushman, of Utiea, clerk of the Assem-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

bly from 1S62 to 1866, that he has since had a great store
of postage stamps, — the old red kind that were in use before
they were superseded by the blue, and these again by the
green ones now in use. So large a supply of stamps has
Mr. Cushman had on hand that he has not only paid post-
age with them, but has used them to pay such items as
a suit of clothes, and no longer ago than last summer he
paid for cotton cloth, bought at a Utica mill, with stamps.
When it is considered that the Assembly, for the five years
Mr. Cushman wasconnected with it, expended over -*56,000
for postage, according to the official figures, it is no wonder
that there were some stamps left over ; but one would
suppose that they belonged to the State, instead of being
one of the perquisites of the clerk. Mr. Cushman is now
one of the assistant clerks of the Senate, at Washington,
and as the Senate does not use stamps, we are glad to
know that he is beyond the present reach of temptation. —
Springfield (Mass., U.S.) Republican.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A STAMP EXCHANGE CLUB.
To the Editor of "The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — In last month's number I see your cor-
respondent, "B. C. del C.," advocates a sort of Stamp Ex-
change Society, which I think would certainly prove very
beneficial to stamp collectors, in helping them to get rid
of their duplicates, instead of always having to buy new
ones. Why could not something of this kind be started
in London, or any other convenient place on this side of
the water — in fact, a sort of stamp club where collectors
could meet ? Of course there would be the room, &c, &c,
to pay for; but I think that difficulty might be got over
by a small entrance fee and an annual subscription. I
think if something of this kind could be done it would
meet with support.

I remain,

Yours truly,

Slough. " P. W. B.

FISCAL STAMPS.
To the Editor of '"The Stamp-Collkctor's Magazine."

Sir, — I quite endorse the statements of " Quelqu'un "
as to collecting fiscal stamps. Such a collection could not
fail to be most unsatisfactory. In the first place it is
almost impossible to get specimens of the impressed
stamps used on English legal documents, except at a most
enormous cost, and for this reason : Stamps upon deeds,
probates, &c, are not, like postage stamps, of no legal
value after they have been used. They must remain af-
fixed to the documents, in order to show that the proper
duty has been paid thereon, inasmuch as no document
which is not duly stamped can be produced in evidence in
a court of law, except on payment of a heavy penalty ;
and since, in certain cases, it is necessary to show a title
of sixty years, of course the stamps on all the documents
within that period must be preserved intact.

Again : if once fiscal stamps be admitted, there is no
reason why chancery, common law, probate and bank-
ruptcy fee stamps should not be collected. They certainly
offer as much interest as the others, and many (the pro-
bate fee stamps especially) are most beautiful specimens
of engraving. Many of the values are, however, very
high, and used specimens would be almost unattainable."
Yours truly,

Timperlei/, Cheshire. ' G. II. H.

T11K PAPERS FOR BEGINNERS.
To die Editor of "The Stamp-collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — May I be permitted through your columns
to offer a suggestion to Mr. Overy Taylor. There i> no
part of your magazine more interesting to me than the
excellent "Papers for Beginners." But although they
first began to appear about two years ago, thej have not as
yet proceeded further than Germany. This being the
case, what a time we must wait before thej get a- far as
Australia ! We shall all be grey-headed, and by no
means "Beginners" by the time the papers have come to
an end. Under these circumstances, 1 hope 1 shall be
pardoned if I suggest that Mr. Overy Taylor should publish
a series of "Papers for Beginners," embracing evert/
country, in the form of a book, that we may all profit
thereby. Trusting that gentleman will give my sugges-
tions the consideration I feel sure they merit.
I am, Sir,

Yours truly,

Barnard Castle. A YOUNG COLLECTOR.

EIGIIT-AND-SIXPENCE-WORTH OF RUBBISH.
To the Editor o/"The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Sut, — There is a sort of satisfaction in knowing that
you are not the only one who has been victimised by an in-
genious scamp. On reading the current number of The
Stamp-Collector's Magazhiel find quoted in your monthly
review of contemporaries a letter from "A Victim" of
M. Ernest Stoltze, of Brunswick, to The Philatelist. I
was another of his chosen ones. As in "A Victim's"
case, 1 was from home ; had I been there, I should not
have received a parcel with eight-and-sixpence t.> pay,
without any advice of it from the person sending. It
was sent to me by post from my home, and on opening I
found its contents identical with those described by the
correspondent above referred to. At first I thought of
writing to Stoltze, but then the old proverb about throw-
ing good money after bad came into my mind, so 1 let the
matter rest, and paid for the dearest packet I ever bought.
I sincerely hope that our friend has got his deserts, and,
enclosing my card,

I remain.

Yours truly,

London, W. ANOTHER VICTIM.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

L. W. M., Valparaiso. — Many thanks for your obliging
communication of 31st January. The following answer
will reply also to your query as to Mr. Pemberton'a
journal.

Another Victim, London, W.— The Philatelieal
Journals no longer in existence. It was published by
Messrs. J. R. Grant & Co., 18, Paradise Street. Birming-
ham. The projected quarterly issue, we understand, will
not take place.

G. II. IE, Timperley. — We do not think the issue of
the stamps of Bergen, Drammens, and Drontheim i^ in
any special manner sanctioned by the Norwegian govern-
ment. The emission, as we take it, is simply permitted ;
and the work of the private offices is confined to the
delivery of letters, &c. With Helsingfors and Tammer-
fors the case, we apprehend, is different. The inscription
BTAnsPOST on these stamps would seem to signify thai the
postal service is undertaken by, or in the name of, the re-
spective towns.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

PAPERS for BEGINNERS.— No. XXVII.

BY OVEUY TAYLOR.
EUROPE.

dormant}.

THE NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION.
The Confederation called into existence by
the war of 1866 was essentially a provisional
one, intended to pave the way for that greater
combination which resulted from the Franco-
German campaign. It lasted only four
years, and gave birth to but one emission,

properly so called ; but it is a remarkable il-
lustration of the complex nature of postal
arrangements in the present day, that that
emission comprises, all told, no less than
twenty-seven stamps, more or less entitled to
the distinctive epithet of "postage." Be-
sides the duplicate series of ordinary pre-
paying stamps, we had a special label for
the local service of a semi-independent city,
a couple cf envelopes, a couple of newspaper
bands, a duplicate set of " service " stamps,
and a pair of registration stamps. Even in
a rudimentary article like the present the
enumeration of all the values seems almost a
superfluous occupation of space ; I may,
therefore, I think, confine myself to a rapid
glance at the few peculiarities wdiich the
series presents. With regard first to the
design : certain of the values of the franking
series proper, and possibly all, show the
figure of value shaded. At first sight the
centre of the figure appears to be filled by a
thick solid vertical line and two thin lines,
but a closer inspection shows that the middle
line is formed of a diagonal shading, the
lines of which run from right to left. In
the normal type the centre of the figure is
quite white. The 1 groschen and 1 kreuzer
and 3 kr. are the only values in which the
diagonal shading has been remarked, but it
may well be that the variety is exemplified
in all the values.

All the values of the franking series proper
exist both pierced (perces) and hole-perfora-
ted. They were first issued perces, and the
perforating machine was called into action
as, and when, fresh supplies were issued.
The printing of these fresh supplies gave rise
to certain more or less marked differences in
shade ; thus the §■ gr., 1 gr., and 2 gr. are found
in shades varying from light to dark of their
respective colours. These variations call for
no special attention, but the change from
a mere perqage to perforation requires to be
noted.

It has been asserted that the stamps just
referred to were issued watermarked. In a
Belgian paper an approximate engraving of
the watermark was given, but after a careful
examination of many copies I can but concur
in the opinion expressed by the editor of this
magazine, that the pretended watermark is
nothing but a mot/ling in the paper, unde-
serving of notice. Such an almost imper-
ceptible change in the appearance of the
back of the stamp as this mottling produces,
can never have been intended to serve as a
means of distinguishing genuine stamps from
false ones.

The stamp issued specially for Hamburg
is a peculiar one. It has no central device,
and the value (half schil-
ling) is not indicated. It
remained in use, I believe,
as long as the other stamps
of the series, and was used
for the city postage. It
wrould be curious to know
on what grounds the pri-
vilege of employing a spe-
cial stamp was conceded to Hamburg, whilst
it was withheld from two other free cities —
Bremen and Lubeck.

The registration stamps — so called for
want of a better title — are remarkable for

the comparative fineness of their engraving.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Ifc is also worthy of note that the plan of
printing these stamps on gold-beaters' skin,
initiated by the Prussian administration,
was not continued by the Confederation
officials. It is to be regretted that these
stainj is should have been obliterated by pen-
marks, as such marks are far less sightly
than the ordinary impression from a hand-
stamp, and unused copies are difficult to
obtain.

The service stamps for the two sections of
the Confederation are distinguished from
each other, not only by
the difference in deno-
mination, but also by a
difference in the coloiir
of the ground. Whilst
the groschen set is
printed in black on
a light brown ground-
work, the kreuzer are printed in black on
pearl-grey.

Of envelopes, properly so called, only two
were issued, the 1 gr. and the 3 kr., both
rose; but a number of "converted" en-
velopes of the absorbed states were issued.
Perhaps, in strictness, the collection of all
the sixty-four varieties should be advocated;
but however interesting such a number of
varieties may be to advanced collectors, it
can hardly be expected that beginners should
feel equally desirous of obtaining them all.
HowTever, the best plan will be to explain the
mode of conversion, and leave the readers of
these papers to judge for themselves as to the
collectable value of the varieties. The enve-
lopes used were those of Prussia, Saxon v,
Brunswick, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Olden-
burg. Over the impressed stamps on
these envelopes were stuck adhesive stamps
of the Confederation. After the adhe-
sives were attached the envelopes were
brought under a die, from which an impres-
sion in pale grey, of a rectangular shape,
about 1 1 in. by 1 in. was struck. This rect-
angular stamp, with rounded corners, was
filled with minute repetitions of the inscrip-
tion— NORDDEUTSCHER POST BEZIEK. It flat-
tened the embossed stamp, covered the ad-
hesive label, and left a broad margin of grey
all round. The only envelopes to which this
grey surcharge alone would not apply were

the Oldenburg, of which the embossed oval
stamps were so large, that to coyer them it
wras necessary to print off a special supply of
adhesives, with an eighth-of-an-ineh of mar-
gin every way. These were used to lode the
embossed stamp, and then the grey impres-
sion wras struck.

The values of the envelopes thus sur-
charged with adhesives, are as follows : —
Surcharged with a 1 gr. adhesive.

1861. Prussia, 1, 3, s.gr. ; 6 pf . ; 0 kr.
1863-5. Saxony, |, 1, 2, 3, 5 s.gr.
186.5. Brunswick, 1, 2 s.gr.

1864. Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 1, 2, 3, s.gr.

1862. Oldenburg, f, 1, 2, 3, s.gr.
Surcharged until a 2 gr. adhesive.

1863. Prussia, 2 s.gr.
,, Saxony, 2 s.gr.

Surcharged with a 3 kr. adhesive.
1867. Prussia, 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 kr.
From this it will be seen that only twenty-
three values were operated on, the sixty-four
varieties being, in fact, made up of surcharges
on different sized envelopes.

I must not omit to state that the currency
of the Confederation series was initiated by
the issue of the adhesives for public use
on the 1st of January, 1868, and terminated
by the issue of the first series for the ( ! irman
Empire, on the loth December, 1871.
GERMAN EMPIRE.
The stamps inscribed Deutsche reichpost
were issued as above stated on the loth De-
cember, 1871, though their general currency
may fairly be dated from New Year's Day
of 1^72. No change in tin1
postal rates or arrangements
-~^X^''i marked the emission, even
the colours are the same as
those of the corresponding
values iu the preceding
series. As originally issu • !.
the first German series com-
prised the following denominations: — ■

1, 2, 5 groschen.

i'.&GHOSCiEN.S

Adhesives

Wrapper

Envelope—

rill

} 4- ::■ ■-•■

{ 1,2,3,
{ *gr.

I 1 kr.

lskt

-1 gr.
3 kr.
Registration Stamps

LO, 30 err.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

About the middle of last year the \ gr.,
originally issued in orange-red, made its ap-
pearance in a dull yellowish orange.

On the 1st June, 1872, the issue of a
second series of adhesives was commenced,
differing from the first only in the enlarge-
ment of the eagle and the introduction of
certain modifications in its design. The
stamps with enlarged eagle, though the
difference be only a secondary one, must be
considered as forming a distinct series, the
change affecting to a certain extent the
central design, and being made intentionally
and for an important reason, viz., to bring
the representation of the eagle on the post-
age stamp into conformity with the shape
and bearings decided on by the heralds for
the imperial arms.

In this second series all the above-men-
tioned adhesive values are represented, plus
two new denominations which appeared to-
wards the end of the year, viz., the 2\ gr.
and 9 kr., both printed light brown.

The post cards, being (until lately) un-
unstamped, possess but comparatively little
interest. The registration stamps are identi-
cal with those of the North German Con-
federation, excepting in so far as concerns
the inscription.

With regard to the envelopes, only the
1 gr. and the 3 kr. exist of the first series,
but all the values of the second are now
being printed off, private persons being al-
lowed to send envelopes to be stamped with
any existing denomination, — subject, of
course, to certain necessary restrictions.
Varieties without number, and without value
from a philatelical point of view, will thus be
produced, and, reiterating the advice given
last month in the article on new issues, I can
only say that one single specimen of each
denomination should suffice.

I have not touched on the field-post enve-
lopes of the Confederation or the Empire, be-
lieving it to be unadvisable to notice hybrid
issues with which the general public has no-
thing to do. For a similar reason the stamps
of the various invalid associations appear to
me to be undeserving of special attention.

THE CITY DELIVERY POSTS OF
SAN FRANCISCO.

BY C. H. COSTER.

The California Penny Post Co. — Since
writing on this post (vol. x., p. 148) I have
been fortunate enough to obtain another
variety of the Penny Post Company's envelope.
It is printed in black on a 3 cents envelope
of the 1853 issue, and does not bear the usual
round hands tamp of the company. I am in-
clined to believe that several minor varieties
of type B (illustrated in my first paper)
exist, but I may be able to speak more
definitely on this point before long.

Our attention must next be directed to
five city delivery posts which I have traced
through the directories of 1860 to 1868.

First.—
1862-3. California City Letter Express, 41 S.Washington St.

1864-5. do. do. 424, do.

1866. do. do. 316, do.

I have no particulars whatever in regard to

this post, nor do I even know whether it

issued postage stamps. However, for the

sake of completeness, I include it in my list.

Second. —

1860. San Francisco Letter Express, Van Dyke and Early,

162, Montgomery Street.

1861. San Francisco Letter Express, G. E. Early, 63J,

Montgomery Street.

1862. San Francisco Letter Express, S. W. Corner, Mont-

gomery and Merchant Street (proprietor's name
not given).

History has also left us in the dark as to this

Express. Possibly it sold out to Robinson.

Third.—

1832-3. San Francisco Letter Express (also found as
"S. F. City Letter Express"), John C. Robinson,
748, Washington Street.

1864. City Letter Express (also found as " City Express"),
Dennis Gahagan, 423, Washington Sfcn i .

Gahagan, who succeeded to the Express in
1864, was previously to that time a carrier
for Robinson. He associated with him one
C. E. B. Howe, although this last mentioned
gentleman's name is not found in the direc-
tory in this connection. Gahagan subse-
quently died or left the concern, which was
sold out to W. E. Loomis. Mr. Howe died
in San Francisco only a few months ago.

Fourth. —
1864-5. City Letter Express, G io. A. Carnes (also found
misprinted as "Caraes"),29, Government House.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

1866. City Letter Express, Geo. A. Carnes, S. E. Corner
of Washington and Sansome Street.

This Express also sold out to W. E. Loomis.

Fifth.—

1865, 1857, 1868, and 1861. City Lstter and Taclcage
Express, Wm E. Loomis, S. E. Corner, of Wash-
ington and Sansome Street.

As will be seen by reading1 the above, Mr.
Loomis was the successor of Gahagan and of
Carnes. He continued his Express, in con-
junction with a stationery business, until a
couple of years ago, when he abandoned it, as
he found that the extra inducements in the
way of prompt delivery throughout the city,
held out by the IT. S. Post-office in San
Francisco, interfered very largely with his
success.

As already stated, I have no reason for
supposing that the California City Letter
Express C impuiv issued stamps. AVe must
therefore proceed with those issued by the
firm of

VAN DYKE & EARLY.

Handstruch on envelopes.

(A). Oblong frank, in shape not unlike
the common Wells, Pargo, & Co., reading sax
FRANCISCO Cm" LETTER EXPRESS, in two lines.
Impressed in black at top of a white enve-
lope, bearing a perforated one cent United
States adhesive, and cancelled san eranclsco,
june 21, 1860.

(B) . Same as last, hut impressed in blue on
an ordinary yellow envelope, across the end of
which is a similarly shaped affair, enclosing
a small transverse oval in centre, with "eec'd"
to left and " M " to right.

(C). I can only give a very general de-
scription of this rarity, having never seen it.

SAX FRANCISCO LETTER EXTRESS, surrounded

by a rectangular oblong frame. Blue on buff
envelope.

J. C ROBINSON.

Adliesives.
1 give below descriptions of all the franks
bearing the name of Rvbinson of which I have
ever heard. It is quite likely that some of
them were issued by other parties of the
same name, instead of by the manager of the
" San Franciso Letter Express." (Those to
which an asterisk is prefixed are noted either
by Dr. Gray or M. Berger-Levrault).

Adhesives.

(1*). robinson & CO. ONE cent. t Rect-
angular ; coloured impression.

Brown on blue.
Black „ blue.
Red ,, green.

(2*). ROBINSON & CO. SAN FRANCISCO E\-
PRESS, PAID. Oblong.

Black on yellow.

Printed on envelopes.
(A), robinson & co.'s express above ;
paid below. Bear in centre ; hills, trees, &c.
in background. The whole enclosed in a
double lined oblong frame, pointed at top.
Black on 3 c. buff 1864 United States enve-
lope.

(B*). ROBINSON & CO.'S SAX FRANCISCO EX-
PRESS. Scroll. Blue impression.

Handstmcli on envelopes.
(C). A correspondent mentions a small
oval handstamp, reading robixson & CO.,

CITY DELIVERY.

GAHAGAN & HOWE.
Adliesives.
(1). G. & H. in centre; city delivery
curved above; sax francisco in straight line
at bottom ; " 5 " in corners. The whole en-
closed in an oblong rectangular frame, formed
by one heavy line, with a border of scallops
inside.

Blue, on thin white paper.

(2). Larger than preceding. <;. A H. — -
paid in centre; city EXPRESS above: 423,
WASIIIXGTON ST., S. E. COR. SANSOME, in two

lines at bottom. Frame like last.
Blue on white.

(3). Similar to Xo. 2. with address
changed to s.E: corner Washington and sax-
SOME STS. Frame of dotted diamonds, with
ornaments at angles. Blaek impression on
white paper.

(4). I might very properly designate this
number '"The Unknown Adhesive." for I
learn that there does exist at least one more
variety which I have not seen, and must
therefore leave its description to its fortunate
possessor.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Handstruch on envelopes.

(A). SAN FBANCTSCO above; LETTER EX-
PRESS below; horseman riding to left in
centre. Oval.

Blue, on various ordinary envelopes.
(This may have been also used by Robinson,
prior to the transfer of his business to
Gh & H.)

(B). city G. & H. express at top; 423
washn. ST. s. E. COR. in centre ; SANSOME ST.
below. Double lined oval. Blue.

(C). I also hear of one similarly shaped,
but smaller than last, and struck in black.

(D). Also of another much smaller, and
inscribed G. & H. ; likewise a black impres-
sion.

(E). CITY LETTER DELIVERY, S. E. CORNER

WASHINGTON A>"D sansome, in scallopped oval,
on plain yellow envelope.

I must thank Mr. Philbrick for his kind-
ness in forwarding description of £, which
was unknown to me.

GEO. A. CARNES.
Adkesives.

(1). Transverse oval, inscribed cabnes'
city letter express. Bear in centre.

Rose on white.

The value of this stamp was 5 c.

(2). Same, with x struck across in blue,
altering its value to 10 cents. This was
principally used on St. "Valentine's day, Mr.
Carnes charging double his usual rates for
delivering valentines.

(3). Larger than preceding. Oblong en-
closing oval, reading carnes' sax fraxcisco
letter express. Angles filled with radiat-
ing lines, and monetary value in small ovals.
Bear, surmounted by star, in centre.

Black, blue, red, ) all on ordinary

bronze, sdver, gold, J white paper.

(4). Very large transverse oval, enclosing
carnes' city letter express. Value in
centre.

15 cents rose on white.

' 55 55 55 55

(5). Similar to last, but reading CARNES

& CO., CITY PACKAGE EXPRESS, 621 MONTG. ST.

15 cents rose on white.

Hand-stamp on envelope.

. city letter express in double lined oval.
Blue, on ordinary envelope.

Before going any further I would add, that
in regard to types 3 and 5 of Carnes' stamps
I must confess complete ignorance ; or,
rather, I should say, that I have received
from various sources such entirely contra-
| dictory statements as to the purposes foj
! which they were issued, that I give up tho
| subject, in despair of ever arriving at any
! satisfactory conclusion. It seems to m^,
however, that we shall not go far wrong in
; placing them in the same category as the
g >lclen-hued trio of Boyd's, Hussey'> S. M.
Post, and the Indian head and General
Grant types of VTestervelt's. I am informed
by a correspondent that type 4 is above sus-
picion.

WM. E. LOOMS.

Adhesive.

(1). Similar to 1 of Carnes', but with

proprietor's name cut from the plate. Below

the oval frame has been added s. E. COR.

wash'x. axd sans'e.

Rose on white.
Ovring to the clumsy way in which the word
carnes was erased, almost all specimens
show traces of either the c or the s.

Loomis, who, it will be remembered,
bought out both Gahas'an & Howe and
Carnes, seems to have used the handstamps
of both these fhans indiscriminately, as well
as his own solitary adhesive. Hence we fre-
quently find the adhesive of the one and the
hands tamp of the other firms on the same
letter.

Below wdl be found a list of the franks
issued by some Other companies, -which pre-
sumedly existed about thesanistime (1860-6),
but of whose history I must confess I know
nothing.

(A), public letter office above, in
scroll shape, in large ornamented capitals ;
xo. 5 in hollow of curve formed by letter
office ; kearny ST. below. In left hand
upper corner of envelope, across the end
of which is also printed, in old English
type, delivered withix one hour after
mailing. Black, on 2 c. "U.S. POST" en-
velope. Alongside the government stamp

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

appears a fancy handstruck impression,
reading paid 15 CIS.

(B). Dr. Gray notes a public letter box,
5 kkarney stkeet, blue, on 1864 envelope.

(C). Also the two following : PUBLIC POST-
offick (horseman) ; black impression.

(D). PRIVATE POST OFFICE (oblong), 15

cants, 25 cents.

Blue, on 1864 envelope.

In regard to the four last described, a cor-
respondent writes as follows : —

I can't find out the least thing about the public and

private letter-boxes. Mr. S says that people used to

advertise such things when it was only to take letters to
the post-office. He had a small die that he used to stamp
mi all that were left in his shop; but it was more for
an advertisement than for anything else ; and I notice in
the large newspaper depots, where people buy envelopes,
&c, that they leave their letters and newspapers to be
mailed, instead of taking them to the post-office.

Therefore lie thinks that many of these
'• letter-boxes," &c, were not regular express
companies, but merely such as the above.

Before closing I must notice the firm, of
Hoag & Malison (I also hear of Madison &
Burke, but can learn nothing further of any
such concern), which was started fully eight
years ago by one B jsley (I spell the name from
sound), Messrs. Hoag & Madison only "lend-
ing their names," and never taking an active
interest. A frank was issued, of which all the
description that I can obtain is, that " it was
some sort of a fancy thing, with a horse in
the centre, and printed in red."

This completes my list of San Francisco
city letter delivery companies known to have
issued postage stamps, although it is quite
probable that their example was copied by
others whose emissions have not yet come to
light. Should any such come under my
notice they shall be duly communicated
through the columns of this journal.

THE STAMPS OF LA GUAIRA.

BY THE REV. R. B. EAUEE.

(Reprinted from " The Plulatelical Journal.")
La Guaiea and Puerto Cabello are the two
seaports of Venezuela (some fifty or sixty
miles apart), through one or other of which,
all letters to or from the interior mtist pass.
The correspondence for the western part of
Venezuela is all sent to Puerto Cabello, whilst

La Guaira soi-ts all letters for the eastern
portion. There are British Packet Agents at
both ports, so that those who wish to prepay
their letters to England can do so ; and lh
agents represent the British post-office gene-
rally, and take charge of, and distribute, all •
British letters. As we have no postal con-
vention with any of these "pie-crust" South
American republics, we are obliged to have
agents to look after our correspondence in
these places.

The Danish Island of St. Thomas, in the
West Indies, is the great centre where the
mails for the whole of the West Indies and
Central and South-west America are split
up; and there are several "intercolonial"
boats which ply to and fro (amongst many
otherplaces) between St. Thomas and the two
Venezuelan ports, carrying the correspond-
ence destined, respectively, for the interior
or for foreign parts. It is with these boats
and their freight that we are at present
interested, for letters carried by them must
be franked by the stamps which form the
subject of this paper. With regard to the
boats themselves, a portrait of one of them
(whether a correct one or not I cannot say)
is to be seen on all the stamps. These stamps
are, of course, essentially local ones ; — they
are of no value for Venezuela, and they nre
of no value for St. Thomas ; but their sole
use is to prepay correspondence between La
Guaira, Puerto Cabello, and St. Thomas. I
have been unable to obtain any statistics as
to the number of stamps sold, but I do not
fancy that the number is very larga. -Most
of those I have seen were unused.
Issue of 1861.
Die. — The stamps of the reales series are
from two different dies. The first die has
the figures in the corners (1,
8, 6, 4,) very small ; the
scroll ornaments above and
below the ends of the word
PAQUETB are distinct, and
tolerably well engraved ; the
sky is very cloudy: the smoke
of the steamer is thick and
dark; the sea is calm ; and
the steamer itself looks something like a
steamer. The second die has the figures
large; the scroll ornaments are coarse: the

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

§ky is almost clear of clouds ; the smoke of
the steamer looks blotchy ; the sea looks
more like a cauldron of boiling soap-suds
than anything else ; and the steamer has
rather an abortive appearance. Altogether,
I think the first die is decidedly preferable.

Perforation. — There are three varieties of
perforation, — circular, oblique, and pointed.
The first of these is only found in stamps of
the first die, whilst both the other varieties
are found on those of the second. To an
English philatelist it seems rather singular
that any country should begin with circular
perforation, and then deliberately take to an
inferior method, because we have been ac-
customed to see just the reverse ; but, then,
in these outlandish parts, we cannot expect
them to be quite as civilized as we are in
England.

Gum. — This is a scarce article in Venezuela ;
at least, I should judge so from the very
small amount upon most of the stamps.
What there is, is of a clear white.

Paper. — The paper varies from soft thickish
to pelure. And now for the stamps them-
selves.

Die

Circular Perforation, 13.

Medio real :

Yellowish rose.
P< se.
Light red.

}

Thin paper.

Dos reales :

Pale yellow- green,

v. to darkish greeu.
Green,

v. to dark green.
Yellow-green, pale.

}

Thin paper.

„ durk.
Green, medium.
„ dark.

)

Thicker paper.

Medio real :

, Thin paper.

Dos reales :

Thicker paper

Die

Oblique Pe
Medio real :

Pinkish red,

II.

•foration.

v. pale to medium.
Lake-red,

v. pale to dark.

)

Thicker paper.

Dos reales :

Chalky green,

v. pale to medium.
Yellowish green,

v. pale to darkish.

}
}

Thicker paper.
Thin paper.

Thin paper.

| Thicker paper.

Thicker paper.

Pointed Perforation.
Medio real :

Very pale pink.
Darker pink.
Hose, v. pale to dark.
Very dark bright red.
Dos reales :

Chalky green.
Light „
Dark
Yellow green,

v. very pale to dark.
Green,
v. bright to dark.
Medio real :
Pale blue.
Chalky blue.
Dos reales :

Orange-yellow,

v. pale to very dark.
Chalky orange,
v. pale to medium.

I have seen very few specimens of the
blue and yellow stamps, and have therefore
been unable to chronicle many varieties ; so
far as I know, neither of them exists with
oblique perforation. There are a great many
shades of colour to be found in the green
stamps with pointed perforation, but all,
more or less, are yelloiv-green. I have not seen
a single b lue- green, out of all that I have
examined. With regard to colour, paper,
design, and execution, these stamps always
remind me very forcibly of those of British
Guiana, and many of the peculiar shades ( i
colour', so difficult to describe in words, are
exact counterparts of the shades to be found
on the British Guiana stamps ; so that those
of my readers who feel more puzzled than
edified by my description of the different
shades, and who do not happen to posse
many of the La Guaira stamps, have only to
look at their British Guianas, and then tli
will immediately be able to recognize, arid
to know for themselves, the shades which I
have endeavoured to describe. Of course I
do not deem it by any means imperative, c
even advisable, that collectors in general
should look for, and place in their collection
every stamp that I have catalogued ; but, a s
nothing like a complete list has ever been
issued before, this one of mine will serve to
show what shades of colour do exist, and
what varieties collectors may accept, if thev
choose to do so.

Before proceeding to examine the cents
issue, I think it necessary to expose 1 1

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

counterfeits of the stamps last commented
npon. These forgeries are all of the first
type. At a distance, they have a specious
appearance ; but when they are more closely
examined, they may be easily detected. They
are badly perforated, on very white paper,
and the colours are chalky, obliterated gene-
rally with a heavy black 0.

GENUINE.

1. Tail of r in guaira
does not touch the a.

2. Tail of q in r.vun: ie
does not touch the line
below.

3. Upper limbs of en and
f. in catsello larger
than tin' lower ones.

4. Steamship sailing on
an even keel.

5. Flag distinctly visible
below the smoke of the
vessel.

6. Mainmast and hal-
yards distinct. No
mizsn.

7. Waves well defined
Bowsprit placed ob-
liquely.

8. Clouds finely engraved.

9. 1) of MEDIO nearly
round, like an 0.

10. D of dos very much
sloped.

11. 6 touches dot in left-
hand corner.

FORGERIES.

1. Tail of u touches a.

2. Tail of Q touches the
line below.

3. Lower limbs of c and
B larger than the up-
per ones, e correctly
shaped.

4. The steamship heavily
loaded at stern, so that
the stem is raised.

5. Xo flag. Smoke covers
the place where the
flag ought to be. ■

6. Mainmast very faintly
defined. Halyards al-
most invisible. An
imaginary mizenmast
depicted.

7. Waves blotchy. Bow-
sprit parallel with line
of deck.

S. Clouds very coarse and

heavy.
9. 1) shaped properly.

10. 1) nearly upright!

11. ti is not near the dat.

There ai'e sundry other differences, but I
have mentioned the principal ones. Following
the genuine, the design varies in the two
values. As a rule, forgers tire content to
take one value of the genuine, and make it
serve for all the other values, by varying
the numerals, &c, — but in this case they
have copied both values of the originals.
The Centavo Series.
I have come to the conclusion that the
stamps of this series were (as Mr. Overy
MIQkQ Taylor says) manufactured at
St. Thomas ; and that they
were intended to frank letters
from that island to La Guaira.
There are several tilings tend-
ing to prove that this is the
>JlZX335Sl fact.

1. The execution at once shows that
Messrs. Waterlow & Sons had no hand in
their manufacture.

2. They were not made in Venezuela,
because the inscriptions are not in Spanish.

3. Like the stamps for St. Thomas, they
are imperforate, whereas the La Guaira
issues are perforated.

4. If the facitd value 'for the St. Thomas
stamps (3 cents) be an abreviation for 3
cen'avos, this will he an additional proof thai
these so-called La Guairas were printed on
that island.

5. The microscopic steamship in the
lower left-hand corner is sailing to left. Does
this intimate the return journey ?

These reasons may not appear very con-
clusive taken separately, but I think they
are worth something as a whole. These
stamps are not nearly so interesting as the
reales series; nor are they so handsome.
They are all printed in black, on coloured
wove paper, and have a dingy look about
them, which renders them very unattractive.
The general appearance of the design reminds
one of the 10 pesos, 1868, of New Granada.

Design. — The outer part of the design con-
sists of a heavy-looking black frame, bearing
the words st. thomas, i.a guaira, pto. cabello,
packet. In the left-hand bottom corner is ;i
squarespacs, containing a microscopic steamer
sailing to I "ft. A square frame, inscribed
with an octagon, surrounds the steamer.
In the right-hand corner is a similar space.
but I cannot make out the design which it
contains. It might be a ligh.tb.ouse, or a cap
of liberty on a pole, or a front elevation of n
si earner; but what it really is, I think only
the engraver himself could tell us. •

The central portion of the design is divide;]
into two parts. The upper half contains the
inevitable steamer, sailing to right, and the
sea on which it floats forms the division
between the two halves of the design. The
steamer in the reales series is a screw, with
jib and foresad set, but in the stamps of this
series the voyagers are obliged to content
themselves with paddles, and have not troubled
themselves to set any sail at all.

The lower half contains the numeral of
value, with the word CENTAVO in a curve
beneath it. Strict grammarians might pos-
sibly take objection to the said CENTAVO being
in the singular number for all the values;
but the designer, apparently, did not trouble
himself with such minor details. The nume-
rals, upon the highest and lowest values, are

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

ornamented in a manner which reminds one
of the first issue of Brazil.

Within the frame the whole of the design
(with the exception of a small portion at the
bottom) is covered with horizontal lines. In
the \ c. these lines are drawn even upon
the numeral itself, but in the other values
the numeral is not so disfigured.

There are two spandrels at the top corners,
two at the bottom, and two supp'orting the
sea, in the centre. Outside the frame is a
thin black line. The horizontal lines from
the interior are prolongacl on the right side
into the frame, and partially deface the ell
of the word CABELLO, as though the engraver
had been in a hurry, and had drawn his lines
too far.

Paper. — The paper is of medium thickness,
wove, and somewhat hard.

Gum. — The gum is white and thin, though
rather more abundant than on the other
emissions.

There are not many varieties of shade, for
being on coloured paper, the tints are toler-
ably uniform.

List.
\ centavo, greyish white,
dull pale rose,
reddish violet,
dull dark green,
chalky green.
,, orange-yellow.

dull chalky yellow,
chalky blue,
bright blue.

Moens catalogues a two centavos-blue, but I
have never seen a copy. All the values
exist in several shades of black, so those
who wish can triple this list by accepting
three well-defined shades which may be
found in each value, viz., pale greyish brown,
medium black, and deep black. The stamps
are all imperforate.

Forgeries of the St. Thomas Series.
I remarked when I wrote above that the
St. Thomas series is not by any means hand-
some ; but I had not seen the forgeries, or I
should not have committed myself so far.
Beauty and ugliness are, after all, more or
less matters of comparison ; and so the
forgeries of the St. Thomas scries make the

genuine labels quite handsome — by compari-
son. I fancy that there are at least two full
sets of these forgeries, one set considerably
better executed than the other. The better-
looking is postmarked with a thick circle,
containing sundry thick, unreadable letters ;
and the postmarks on the' other set resemble
the outline of the deck of a vessel more than
anything else. I will first take the variations
from the original, common to both forsreries.

GENUINE.

1. Stop after packet.

2. Stop after cabf.li.o.

3. Groundwork of horizon-
tal lines partially cover-
ing: the ends of curved
scroll.

4. Upper and middle span-
drels covered by hori-
zontal lines.

5. Line below st. thomas,
if extended upwards,
would pass between L
and a of LA GUAIRA.

6. Same line, if extended
downwards, would not
touch the square in low r
left-hand corner.

The above differences exist in both, forgeries.
We will now take each set separately, and
compare with the genuine.

FORGED IES.

1. No stop after packet.

2. No stop after cabello.

3. Horizontal lines do not
pass the boundary lines
of scroll.

4. Lines do not cover the
spandrels.

5. Line would cut through
the middle of the lower
limb of l.

6. Line would cut into the
square.

GENUINE.

1. All lettering in frame-
work thick.

2. Letters of packet close
together.

3. Scroll rounded oft' both
at beginning and end.

4. Stop after centavo
placed in the outline of
scroll.

5. Centavo in singular for
all values.

6. P of packet, and stop
after packet, at equal
distance from sides of
frame.

GENUINE

1. centavo in a scroll.

2. Steamship tolerably well
drawn.

3. All the ropes in the
rigging can bo easily
counted.

FIRST, OR BETTER
FOUGERY.

1. Lettering in framework
very thin.

2. Letters of packet far
apart.

3. Scroll rounded offat end,
but unfinished at be-
ginning.

4. \ and 1 cent, have stop
inside scroll ; the other
values have no stop at
all.

5. Centavo on h and 1
cent, only ; all the other
values have centavos.

6. P of packet very near
the side of frame, but as
there is no stop, the T
appears very far from
the other side.

second, or inferior
forgery.

1. Centavo without scroll.

2. Steamship very coarsely
executed.

3. Popes in rigging very
indistinct ; and it is im-
possible to count them
with any certainty.

74*

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

This second forgery is so very coarsely done,
that I ,'neod say no more about it ; but the
first one is much more likely to deceive the
uninitiated.

Curacao Series.
These stamps have a very pleasing ap-
pearance, and yet the design is very simple.
In the centre is a three-masted screw steam-
ship, sailing to left, on
a moderately calm sea.
There are no clouds,
but above the vessel is
a scroll containing the
words of value. Below
the vessel are the initials
J. A. J. & Z. in old
English type, and below
them the word curacao
in Egyptian type ; above, below, and at sides
arc solid labels with rounded ends, and
lettered paquete, san tomas, la guaira, pto.
CABELLO. In each corner is a solid circle,
inscribed, in a square, and containing the
value in figures. The external line running
round the stamp is indented or scalloped,
as in the oval Saxon adhesives.

Paper. — The paper is a yellowish white
wove, and stouter than in either of the other
issues.

Gum. — The gum is, as usual, very thin,
and very sparingly laid on.

Perforation. — There are two varieties of
perforation ; punctured 10, and circ. perf. 13 ;
but I cannot find out whether both values
exist in both varieties of perforation. Un-
fortunately, I have very few specimens to
describe from ; and the following are all the
varieties I have seen.

Punctured perf 10.
Medio real, pale yellow-green.
,, darker ,,

Circ. perf. 13.
Dos reales, very pale rose.

,, deep carmine-rose.

This series does not appear to have been
forged.

My notes are now completed, and I trust
that the perusal of them will be of real
benefit to my fellow-philatelists.

NEWLY-ISSUED OR IXEDITED
STAMPS.

New Zealand. — Annexed is the promised
engraving of the new halfpenny stamp. We
have no need to apologise for
deficiencies in the reproduction,
for it is, in fact, about equal
in finish to the original, which,
we are happy to say, docs not
emanate from the De La Rue
ateliers. We have little doubt,
in fact, that the design was engraved and
printed in the colony ; the style, ink, paper,
and perforation, combined with the absenc •
of any watermark, are all in favour of the
correctness of this assumption. The profile
of the Queen, of which the expression is
very accurately rendered in our engraving,
is unlike any other stamp-portrait of Her
Majesty. The design, as a whole, was no
doubt suggested by that of our own half-
penny stamp, to which, however, we much
prefer it ; the rectangular shape, the legible
inscriptions, and general simplicity of ar-
rangement giving the New Zealand product
a far more pleasing appearance. .As stated
in our last, the impression is in pink, on
white (wove) paper. The perforations are
ragged and uneven, and smaller at the sides
than they are at top and bottom.

Barbados. — From an obliging corres-
pondent in Barbados we arc favoured with
early intelligence of the intended issue of two
new values — a threepence mauve and five
shilling brown, the latter to be of a colour
approaching that of the present English
sixpenny. Orders to that effeel were de-
spatched from the colony on the 29th
January last, and are probably in course of
execution at present. The Barbadian offi-
cials remain faithful to the old design ; the
two new values are to be printed from the
existing dies, and instructions have been
given for the preparation of a supply of the
current fourpenny stamp, with the value
added.

( iiATEMALA. — Mrs. Craig, of San Francisco,
writes us that it is several mint lis since
specimens of the new Guatemala stamps
came to the post-office of that town, and that
she obtained, through a friend at the office, a

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

copy of the 4 rls. lilac, which had certainly-
prepaid the postage of a letter from Gua-
temala. She has also heard a report of the
existence of the yellow (1 peso) stamp, and
she adds that both lilac and yellow must be
genuine, "unless Allan Taylor has bribed
some of the postal officials in Guatemala to
use them in order to get off one of his
practical jokes at the expense of you
Englishmen." Truly a novel suggestion.

Russian Locals. — Podohh (Moscow). —
What can be the meaning of the two crutch-
like ornaments, salt ire,
which adorn the Po-
dolsk stamps ? We refer
to the first description of
the stamp, given in our
own ninth volume, but
find nothing there to
help us, the device being
simply described as
"arms." In this diffi-
culty we appeal to our
St. Petersburg correspondent. In general
appearance the stamp closely resembles the
issues for Bogorodsk, Bronnitzi, and Ko-
lomna, and there can be but little doubt that
it is from the hands of the same engraver.
The impression is in green, on white paper.
There are two shades of colour, blue-green
and yellow-green. The stamps are perces en
ligne.

Syrvan (Simbirsk). — In the spelling of
these names we adopt the orthography of Le
Timbre-Poste, from which
journal we extract the ac-
count of this stamp and of
those noticed in the two suc-
ceeding paragraphs. The
Syrvan emission has hitherto
escaped attention. The in-
scription reads — stamp of the

RURAL POST 5 KOP.— OF THE

district of syrvan (the latter clause being
expressed by an abbreviation). The impres-
sion is blue on solferino. There is a rather
curious variety of this type, namely, a stamp
every line on which is preceded by a repeti-
tion of the first letter or figure, and a verti-
cal line to the left; thus 5 kop. becomes
55 kop.

Tiraspol (Cherson). — Tlrs is another un-

3emck.

HOHiOBAH

MAPKA
5lC.

CL13P.yfc3

known stamp, more rare than beautiful.
The circular inscrip-
tion signifies admi-
nistration of the

TIRASPOL DISTRICT, and

the central inscrip-
tion, STAMP FOR PACK-
ETS AND PRIVATE LET-
TERS, 5 kop. Printed
in dark blue on white
paper.

BerdiansJc (Tau-
rida.) — The current stamp exists in two
very distinct shades, viz. : —

10 kop. blue and yellow-green.
10 ,, greenish blue and pale yellowish
green.

Cuba. — The subjoined types, first noticed
in our December, are now doing duty in the

■ Site -e?-\ g^

UN/TEesE'

Spanish Antilles. It will be observed that
the only points in which the peseta differed
from the other values are — the arrangement
of the inscription in the lower margin, and
the suppression of the corner disks. The
proofs of the series comprised a 12 c, but
the anticipation that the value would not be
issued has been verified, the emitted set con-
sisting of the following denominations : —

12^ c. green'.

25 „ lilac.

50 ,, brownish bistre.

1 peseta yellowish bistre.

It seems a pity that the two high values
should both be printed in shades of one and
the same colour.

United States. — The long-expected post
card is to make its appearance on the first of
this month. The American Journal of Phil-
ately contains an engraving of the design
which, thotigh rich, strikes us as being
rather heavy. It, however, preserves a dis-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

tinctive character of its own, which is
maintained even in the inscriptions. The
post card becomes, in American phrase-
ology, a "postal" card, and the instructions
are conveyed in the following rather abrupt
formula : Write the address only on litis side,
the message on the other; the latter clause
seems rather superfluous. The card is
rather larger than the English one. It
has a broad effectively ornamented border.
Within, in the upper right corner, is the
stamp — a profile bust of Liberty, ornamented
with the Phrygian bonnet, in a solid oval,
with a broad engine-turned frame, inscribed
u. s. POSTAGE above, and the value in words
below. Crossing the card, in a waved line
from left to right, are the words united states
in bold letters, and beneath in smaller type,
in a curved line, postal card. Below that
again, in a straight line, come the instruc-
tions above quoted. Thei'e is one fault in
the arrangement, and that is that sufficient
space is not left for the address. Our con-
temporary does not mention the colour of
the card or of the impression.

TolIiMA. — -The Philatelist for April, pub-
lished the annexed engraving which is that
of a stamp communicated
to the editor by a corres-
pondent. ISTo satisfactory
information being as yet
forthcoming respecting it,
its character cannot be
vouched for. It is a
rather coarse lithograph;
colour blue ; value 20
centavos.

Victoria. — M. Moens, in his current num-
ber, says, " Hitherto it has been taken for
granted that the issue of the stamps with
emblems in the angles and a star watermark,
took place in 1859. One of our correspond-
ents sends us an envelope prepaid with two
of these stamps, a penny and a four-penny,
and bearing the postmark, Hamil'on, 17th
July, 1857.

Canada. — By the courtesy of a Montreal
subscriber we are in possession of specimens
of the current three cents, printed in bright
orange-vermilion. A supply in this colour
has just been issued.

Shanghai.— The supply of the brown 1

candareen being exhausted, a provisional
supply of that value has been obtained by
obliquely surcharging the 4 cand. with' the
inscription 1 cand, and certain Chinese cha-
racters. The surcharged stamps are of two
shades, violet-grey and lilac-grey.

United States of Colombia.- — We have
just seen a sheet of one centavo stamps, of
the 1872 typa, printed in pink, the saui3
colour as that used for the first issue (1865)
of that value.

Iceland. — The promised 3 skilling has
made its appearance. It is of the same de-
sign as the other values of the series, for
general use, and is printed pale grey.

Spain. — It is reported that the provisional
government is making arrangements for the
issue of a new series of stamps.

A PEEP INTO THE GREY BOOK.

The Grey Book is the French An nun ire ties
Pastes. It may be said to consist of our
Postal Guide, and the Postmaster-General's
Ri' port rolled into one, though it is destitute of
those gossipping items which 1 aid a certain
interest to Mr. Monsell's periodical publi-
cation. It is, in short, made up of rules,
statistics, and rates ; but notwithstanding the
dry aspect of its pages, it contains some in-
structive items of information, which we
purpose laying before our readers.

The first noticeable regulation is that
whereby the sender of a letter is allowed to
withdraw it from the box into which lie lias
thrown it. In this country, a letter one •
flung into the official receptacle is beyond
reclaim. In France, if a letter thus placed
in charge of the office has been wrong] v
addressed, the sender can obtain communica-
tion of it prior to its despatch, upon showing
the seal which he has employed to fasten it.
and a fac-simile of the address. He is then
allowed to rectify the address. Should he
wish entirely to withdraw the letter, he
must, in addition to the foregoing formalities,
declare in writing that lie is the author of it,
and engage to hold himself responsible for
its suppression. He must, furthermore, be
known to the postmaster, or else be accom-
panied by two witnesses, and in his or their
presence the letter must be opened, in order

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

that the postmaster may assure himself of
the identity of its signature with that of the
claimant. The privileges thus accorded are,
to our knowledge, occasionally made use
of by commercial houses.

The foregoing is a sensible regulation ;
the following is a vexatious one. " Printed
matter, samples, and manuscripts must be
enveloped in wrappers or bands covering at
most one-third of the surface." For years
past this rule has not been strictly observed,
but within the last two or three months a
circular has.been issued by the head office, re-
quiring all postmasters to put it rigorously
in force, and no little annoyance has been
caused by this whim of the administration.
To us, accustomed as we are to much
greater postal liberty, such a regulation
seems unreasonable. The post gains nothing
by a diminution in the superficies of the
band. All the explanation of the reason
for the rule which we could get from
a French postmaster was, that merchants,
profiting by the indulgence accorded by the
post-office, had gone on extending the di-
mensions of the band, until it at length
frequently covered the circular, and thus ac-
quired the appearance of an envelope. Now
communications under cover obtain generally
more attention than mere circulars sous
landes, and the senders of the -circulars en-
closed in large wrappers were thus, in the
eyes of the wise postal officials, getting more
than their money's worth. The explanation
seems very childish, but we give it as a spe-
cimen of French official reasoning. There
has been a lively discussion on the subject in
some of the papers, but the edict has not
been recalled ; rather has it been confirmed
by a fresh order from the French general
post-office, requesting postmasters to reject
circulars on which the postage stamp is so
affixed as to keep the band in its place.
The stamp must be entirely on the band.
We expect shortly to see a fresh order, for-
bidding the senders to stick the stamps on
upside down, or to place them in a diagonal
position.

For the information of the public and of
the postal officials, for whom this book is
primarily intended, a list of the stamps in
use is given, and we must not omit to quote

it, for it contains a striking piece of intelli-
gence. It reads as follows: — -

" The postage stamps are of thirteen differ-
ent values, namely, 1 c, 2 c, 4 c, 5 c, 10 c,
15 c, 20 c, 25 c, 30 c, 40 c, fifty c, 80 c,
and 5 francs." We could hardly believe our
own eyes when we saw the 50 centimes
quoted, in an official publication, as an ex-
istent value. Yet there it is, plain enough,
and the number of thirteen can only be made
up by including it. This shows, in a surprising
manner, how little confidence can bs put in
official statements ; for there is not, and never
has been, a 50 c. stamp. What a pity this
accurate publication does not mention the
colour of the mythical value !

Let us turn now to the statistics. It will
be within the recollection of our readers that
in the autumn of 1871 the interior letter-
rate was raised from 20 to 25 centimes, in
the expectation that the advance would re-
sult in an increase of revenue. We are very
happy to say this expectation has not been
verified. On the contrary, the profits of the
post-office for the year 1871 were some
7f millions of francs less than those of the
year 1869 (we leave 1870 out of the reckon-
ing, as it was an exceptional year), and
though we are not in possession of official
statistics, we have good reason to believe
that the results since obtained have not been
more satisfactory. Hence it is probable
that the rate will soon be reduced to the old
level. In further confirmation of the effect
produced by the increase of the rate we may
state that the number of letters which passed
through the post-office in 1871 was less than
in any year since 1864.

The French post-office is not nearly so
progressive as our own. In 1848, about 122
million letters passed through it, and in 1869,
only 364 millions. The number of stamps
sold does not amount to more than half that
of the English stamps. In 1871 it was only
483 millions.

Transgressions of the postal laws in France
are, or rather were, it appears, by no means
uncommon. In 1860, no less than 2711
persons were summoned for making use of
stamps which had already passed the post.
Of this larger number, however, nearly forty
per cent were acquitted, the convictions being

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

only 1623, and the convicted persons being
let off, on payment of a fine varying from
two to forty pounds. A foot-note is added to
the table which gives these results, explaining
tie acquittals from the fact that the law only
punishes those who "knowingly use stamps
which have previously served. The number
of delinquents diminishes each year. In 1871
there were but 408 summonses, and 205
convictions. Besides, or instead of, the in-
fliction of a fine, we find imprisonment
resorted to in the case of military culprits.
In 1860, twenty-one such transgressors passed
a period, varying from five to thirty days, in
prison. In I860, only five soldiers were
found guilty, and in 1870 and '71 the ranks
were free from offenders.

The post-office has no choice but to hand
over to the civil courts persons detected in
the act of employing used stamps, but in the
case of minor infractions of the postal laws,
such for instance as the illicit conveyance of
letters, the insertion of notes or other illicit
memoranda in packets of printed matter, &c,
it has power to transiger, — that is to say, to
se ;tle with the offender the terms of his sub-
mission. Thus in 1860 there were 7575 such
infractions, and in 7522 cases a t ransaction was
arranged, with a total net benefit to the
Treasury of about £1480; the rem lining
53 offenders allowed the matter to be carried
into court, and were all convicted. In 1866,
the number of delinquents rose to over 13,000,
and the fines brought in some £3600.
Latterly, it is evident the post-office has
become rather more severe, for with only
6757 cases there was a net yield of £1360.

It may be assumed that mercantile houses
and carriers are the principal sinners. Letters,
&c, are sent hidden in packages of gcods,
and from time to time the post-office makes
a descent on the railway stations, opens the
packages, and fines the senders. That letters
are thus sent merely for the sake of saving
postage, we hardly think. It is probable
that in many instances there is a gain of
time by forwarding them inside the packages.

Turning over the pages, we come lastly to
the tariff, and find, in a note which heads
it, the information, that correspondence is
stamped with the letters p. i>. when the rate
quoted on the tariff represents the convey-

ance to destination, and with the letters r. p.
when the rate only represents prepayment np
to a certain point, the remaining expense
having to be borne by the receiver. The
rates themselves offer no subject for obser-
vation.

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

Le Timbre Paste. — The current number of
this journal is composed of but two articles,
the Chronicle, and the continuation of Dr.
Magnus's exhaustive monograph.on stamped
envelopes. 'From the former we have ex-
tracted various notices of new postage
stamps, but have not borrowed any of the
descriptions of telegraph emissions. The
latter are regularly chronicled in the conti-
nental papers, bat in this country they have
not taken root. We freely admit that they
are collectable, but until we fiiul ourselves
in presence of a clearly manifested desire on
our readers' part for information respecting
them, we do not feel justified in discussing
them in our columns.

In the Ohroniqae we find reference to
another new forgery,— that of the 50 baj.
Roman States. The paper of the counterfeit
is of a yellowish tint ; the letters of the in-
scription, franco bollo postale ; are rather
larger than in the original ; and the ball
above the n in franco is incomplete, but the
decisive tests are the festoons of the papal
tiara. In the counterfeit these lines are hori-
zontal.

Dr. Magnus completes in the number be-
fore us the analysis of the French envelope
essays. The designs submitted by M. Re-
nard are treated of. They were printed by,
and were intended to demonstrate the ad-
vantage of, aii automatic machine, by which
all the operations connected with the stamp-
ing— such as the placing of the paper, the
inking of the dies, the impression, the gum-
ming and folding of the envelope — are ef-
fected under the superintendence of a single
person, and with the aid of an insignificant
steam power. This machine was capable
of producing 20,000 copies per day, but the
invention was never called into active use.
The designs themselves were but recently re-
ferred to in these pages. The French essays

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

dismissed, the doctor next turns to Spain, and
under that heading an engraving of a rather
striking envelope essay is introduced. The ori-
ginal is in the collection of the learned doctor.
The design consists of an embossed bust of
the Queen in a large upright inscribed oval,
with correos above and 4 cuartos below, the
space between the inscription being filled with
an Arabesque pattern. There is a second
and similar, but smaller, type struck in plain
relief, without colour, on white and coloured
papers. These designs are almost unknown
to philatelists, and nothing positive can be
gathered as to their origin.

The Philatelist. — The most noticeable ar-
ticle in the April number of our Brighton
contemporary, is the Spud paper, in which
Mr. Pemberton dissects the Sierra Leone
and Fiji counterfeits. With regard to
the former, which is a tolerably successful
imitation, Mr. Pemberton says, " There is
one thing that may be taken as an instant
test, and that is the white appearance of the
profile from the top of the crown to the end
of the nose ; and again, there is the same
effect down the neck, which is unnatural, and
due to bad workmanship. The lozenges in
the angles containing the cross are mathe-
matically true and perfect, and all four alike in
the real stamp, though not so in the forgery.
But, however we may pull its weak points to
pieces, the whiteness of the profile remains
the test, because the other points require
comparison with an original ; and when a
forgery cannot be detected from its descrip-
tion alone it is proof that the tests ara not
true."

The chief fault in the forgery of the sur-
charged Fiji stamp is the shape of the base
of the crown : in the genuine the bottom line
is perfectly straight, but in the counterfeit
curved or convex.

Mr. Pemberton laments, and with reason,
that the miserable sameness of style, colour,
paper, perforation, and obliteration, common
to these vermin, is not sufficient to ensure
their detection at sight, but the fact is, the
buyers of these imitations are principally
boys whose collections have no philatelic in-
tei^est, and who know nothing about stamps —
who collect blindly for the mere sake of
amassing; a certain number of labels, because

in so doing the pence which are burning in
their pockets find an outlet. It is none the
less in the highest degree regrettable that
they should be the victims of an organised
and but too profitable fraud, but how to
reach or warn them is the difficulty. These
ignorant buyers of forgeries are our philalelic
pagans. Perhaps if they could be got at,
their blind confidence and equally blind dis-
trust might be undermined; but where are
the missionaries for this good work ? If
only papers such as Mr. Pemberton's could
be brought under their notice their credulity
would soon give place to discernment, but we
fear that philatelic mag-azines are rarely read
by this numerous class of collectors, who may
truly be styled timbromaniacs.

THE UNITED STATES POST CARDS.

It was intended, says The Springfield Union,
from which the following particulars are ex-
tracted,* to have the cards printed and in use
during 1872, but, by a singular oversight,
the Forty-second Congress closed its second
session, last spring, without making any ap-
propriation for their manufacture, and the
matter thus had to go over. The mistake
was corrected at the opening of Congress in
December, when an appropriation of $800,000
was voted for the manufacture of postal
cards and stamped envelopes. The Post-
master General advertised for proposals to
manufacture the postal cards, January 23,
and on the 27th of February the contract
was awarded to the Morgan Envelope Com-
pany of this city, which offered to furnish
the cards at $l-39 7-8 per thousand. The
next highest bidder was George H. Reay, of
New York, whose price was $P59 1-4 per
thousand. The whole number of competitors
was 14. The contractors agree to furnish one
hundred million cards the first year, and more
if required. The orders received at the de-
partment already amount to over 30,000,000,
and are increasing every day, so that the
Postmaster General calculates that at least

* We are indebted to our old and esteemed correspond-
ent, Mr. L. II. Bagg, for communication of the news-
paper from which these extracts are made. The article
is adorned with an illustration of the forthcoming card,
which, as regards the border pattern, differs considerably
from the A. J. F.'s engraving.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

130,000,000 cards will be called for the first
year.

The cards are to he printed on what is
known as " bond paper," that is paper which
is worked together in a solid sheet without
pasting. They will be five and one-eighth
inches long, by three inches wide, and are of
two shades of velvet-brown, bearing on one
side a stamp with the "liberty" head, sur-
rounded by the words u. s. postage one cent,
in lathe work, and having besides the words
united states postal card. Printed across
the face are lines for the address, with the
letters u. S, P. o. d., one-and-a-half inches
long, in a watermark across the body of
the card. The weight is to be six pounds to
the thousand.

By the terms of the contract the manu-
facturers must have 500,000 cards ready for
delivery May 1, and a gang of workmen are
busy getting the east part of the ground floor
of the Morgan Envelope Company's factory
on "Worthington street, ready for the printing
apparatus. The walls of that section of the
building are of brick, and consequently fire-
proof, but the ceiling of the room has been
strengthened by a coating of corrugated iron,
which will be covered with mortar. Tbe
whole of No. 84 will be given up to the manu-
facture, which will employ sixteen hands.
The press, of which mention was recently
made in The Union, will be capable of strik-
ing off 35,000 cards per hour, or 350,000 per
day. The agent, who will have a general
superintendence of the manufacture as well
as the forwarding, will have his office and that
of his clerks in the front part of the room
facing the street. In the rear a fire-proof
vault is to be erected, 23 feet wide, 40 feet
long, and 10 feet high, large enough to hold
15,000,000 cards. The walls of the vault are
to be 12 inches thick. There will be one
entrance from the rear of the work-room, by
means of a doorway three by six and one-half
feet. This will be protected by double iron
do >rs.

The Morgan Envelope Company, which
will fill this important contract for the
coming four years, is among the most ener-
getic and successful of our many manufac-
turing concerns. Upon a small beginning,
they have built up a large business in the

making and sale of envelopes, and have com-
bined therewith several kindred manufac-
tures, which have also assumed large pro-
portions. All the articles from their factory
heretofore have been characterised by neat-
ness and tastefulness, so that as stationers,
as well as envelope makers, their goods have
become widely popular. There is every
reason, therefore, to expect that the new-
postal cards will be neatly and handsomely
gotten up, and so be a credit to the concern
and satisfactory to government and people.

There has been much speculation as to tin1
merits and demerits of the postal card system,
many claiming that it will be used as a means
of blackmailing and venting personal spleen,
as has been the case to some extent in
England, where the system has been in vogue
some time. But the present postal regula-
tions provide that any letter or package
having on its envelope gross or obscene
words shall be sent to the dead letter-
office, and this law will of course apply t >
postal cards. No sooner had the system
been voted than private parties began
getting up postal cards on their own hook
and sending them through the mail, with
the usual one cent stamp affixed. As each
card bore an inscription similar to the follow-
ing: " Lipman's postal card, patent applied
for," every one making its appearance at the
post-office is confiscated and sent to the dead
letter-office at Washingt >n. Without the
postal inscription the cards would have been
allowed to pass like other mail matter.

THE LONDON PHILATELIC SOCIETY.

The meeting held on the 12th nit. was but
thinly attended, many of the members being
absent from town. The president and others
si lowed the stamps announced for exami-
nation; but the meeting was not marked by
any specially noticeable feature. The next
meeting is announced to take place on
Saturday, the 3rd May. when the stamps of
Mexico and the other Central American
States Avill form the subject of a probably
interesting discussion.

An error crept into our report of the
March meeting. The rare medio peso red, of
Pern, was accidentally misnamed half din

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

THE MORTON STAMPS.—
MR. PANOPOULO'S EXPLANATION.

Reference was made by us in a recent
review of " Our Contemporaries " to an
article published in Le Tlmbre-Poste, in
reply to a letter from Mr. Panopoulo which
appeared in these pages. Mr. Panopoulo
now writes us in vindication of the Morton
stamps, and whilst declining to imitate the
style of the article in question, or even to
discuss it in detail, he hands us copies of the
letters referred to by M. Moens, and ac-
companies them with the following certificate,
of the genuine character of which we see no
reason to doubt.

At the request of Mr. Panopoulo, ex- director of our
postal department, and in order to clear all doubts respect-
ing the authenticity of our postage-stamp emissions, as
chronicled in The Stamp- Colled 'or' 's Magazine, we
hereby certify that the said emissions were duljr author-
ised by us, and the said stamps used for the payment of
letters carried by our steamers to local ports, but are no
more in use since we ceased to run on the coasting trade.

T. B. MORTON & CO.
Constantinople, 25th March, 1873.

The authenticity of the signature is sup-
ported by an impression from the company's
ordinary handstamp.

We have read over the letters which Mr.
Panopoulo puts in. They are the letters of
a business man, and no importance one way
or another attaches to a terminating expres-
sion, such as " Dans Vespoir que vous serez
content.'''' We have seen similar phrases in
letters from properly constituted postmasters
advising the enclosure of parcels of stamps,
and it must be borne in mind that the
managers of private post-offices, unsubsidised
by the state, can never take such high
ground in their correspondence, and appear
so indifferent to the sale of a certain quantity
of stamps, as the officials of a government
department. Some soupcon of the influence
of "filthy lucre " clings to nearly all private
stamps. Even granting their bono
employment, the issuers of such stamps,
if they are acquainted with the demand
which exists for them among collectors, and
the value set on varieties, are tempted to find
excuse for making frequent changes in the
colours and designs, in order to replenish
'their coffers. That Mr. Panopoulo has

shown any exceptional resistance to temp-
tations of this kind, we do not pretend, but
we certainly do not look on the Morton
stamps, taken altogether, as inferior in value
to those of other private offices. Whether his
emoluments were derived from the sale of the
stamps, or whether he was a salaried servant
of the company, we know not ; but the
question, though it may be looked on as an
impertinent one, is one which in reality is of
no small importance in determining the exact
philatelical value of varieties of stamps, which
it is evident from the above certificate were
primarily issued for the purpose of a genuine
postal service.

M. Moens, in his article, made a great
deal of the fact that Mr. Panopoulo had
requested him to send all future orders for
stamps directly to him. The entire phrase
reads as follows.

N.B. — Veuillez adresser vos futures commandes en mon
nom aux scinsde Messrs. T. B. Morton &Co., en ajoutant :—
" le Itecereur des Postes de la Compagnie."

M. Moens only quoted the first clause, but
it is clear, on reading the whole sentence,
that no concealment was intended on Mr.
Panopoulo's part, and the request simply
proves that the postal affairs were under his
control.

The only thing in the correspondence of
which we do not quite like the look, is the
following postscript to a letter of the 8th
November, 1871.

P.S. — Des timbres ronds blancs sans le Steamer, il no
nous en restent plus pour le moment ; j'esporo pouvoir
vous en env oyer par ma prochaine, si vous en voudrez.

The stamps without the steamer, it will be
remembered, composed the first series ; and
the stamps with steamer, the second. The
same die was used for both series, the second
being formed by engraving the steamer in a
blank space above the word FRANCO. When
once this steamer was added it necessarily
became impossible to get by fair means any
more impressions of the design as it stood in
the first series. Now Mr. Panopoulo, in
the above postscript, says that he has no
more of the white stamps without steamer
left ; but that he expects to be able to send
some in his next letter. But how was he to
get them ? How Avas he to o-et from a die

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

bearing a representation of a steamer, an
impi^ession without steamer ? It could only
be clone, as the opponents of the Morton
stamps allege it has in fact been done, by
first covering over, or stopping up, the re-
presentation of the steamer. Now on this
point we certainly want some explanations
from Mr. Morton. His offer to procure a
further supply of nonexistent stamps may
be capable of a perfectly innocent explan-
ation, but until we receive it we must say
our faith in the " steamerless" impressions is
considerably shaken.

PAPERS for BEGINNERS.— No. XXVIII.

BY OVERY TAYLOR.

EUnOrE.

Hamburg.*

The stamps of the free city of Hamburg,
though they cannot lay claim to any re-
markable delicacy of execution, are distin-
guished by a pleasing quaintness of design,
and when grouped together their varied
colours show off to great advantage, render-
ing the page to which they are attached one
of the most striking of those.- devoted to
European countries. Another thing which,
from a beginner's point of view, is very much
in their favour, is that there arc, properly
speaking, no rarities among them. A no-
vice, commencing his collection to-day, may,
with a very small outlay of patience and
cash, obtain the whole series, and no great
exertions are needed to obtain an acquaint-
ance with their particularities.

The first emission was brought out on the
1st January, 1859, and consisted of the fol-
lowing values : —

^ schilling,

i „

3 „

4 „

7 „

9 „

black.
brown.

red.

blue.

green.

orange.

yellow.

The design consists of the numeral of value

* The publication of the paper on Greece which, in
accordance with the alphabetical order adopted, should
precede the present, is unavoidably deferred.— 0. T.

surcharged on the city arms (a castle with
two turrets flanking a cen-
tral and cross-crowned dome).
The exceeding similarity be-
tween the stamps might lead
to the supposition that all the
values were produced from one
original die, the numerals being
cut over the arms. Sueh,
however, is not the case. On comparing
any two values together slight variations
will become perceptible. Attention may
be specially directed to the stars over the
towers ; they are of all shapes and sizes.
It may also be noticed, incidentally, that the
arabesque ornament in the left upper corner
is modified according to the exigencies of the
different inscriptions of value. In the \
schilling it disappears altogether ; in the 7
schilling it is reduced to a trio of curves.
As all these stamps were engraved on metal,
the time employed in producing them must
have been considerable. Possibly the ex-
pense of the initial series had something to
do with the decision to employ lithography
for the production of two new values which
appeared in April, 1864. They were the

1} schilling lilac.

2\ „ green.

The 2 1 schilling differs from the 1\ schil-
ling in having the name HAMBURG in an hori-
zontal instead
of an arched
label. and also
in having a
Maltese cross
in each cor-
ner. In every
other respe -t.
it will be seen, the design of both is the same.
The castle is smaller than on the engraved
stamps, and the reduction in its size lias
enabled the draughtsman to favour us with
an idea of the masonry by which it is sup-
ported.

Of the \\ sch. numerous colour- varieties
exist, which are, in fact, the natural re-
sults of the choice of a colour so extremely
susceptible to change as lilac. A slight
alteration in the proportions of the various
ingredients used in its composition may Ere-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

quently produce marked differences in tint.
It may be affirmed that no two successive
editions of a lilac, mauve, or violet stamp are
of precisely the same shade, and the chances
are that the second shows great divergence
from the first. Such being the case no great
attention can be claimed for the variations
which are unintentionally, yet unavoidably,
produced. Suffice it to say that the stamp
was first issued in lilac, and that it exists in
violet, in grey, in green, and (according to
one authority) in blue.

All the foregoing stamps are watermarked
with an undulating line easily perceptible
when they are held np to the light. The
2 1 schilling, it is true, exists, or is said to
exist, nnwatermarked ; I have, however,
never met with this variety, and it is only
noted by one author.

In October, 1864, the \ sch , 1 sch., 2 sch.,
3 sch., 4 sch., 7 sch., and 9 schilling were
issued perforated. JS"o change in colour then
occnrred, but most of the values were printed
in rather paler shades. In 1865, the colour
of the 7 schilling was altered to mauve, and
the 3 schilling ultramarine — probably an
accidental variety — appeared. At about the
same time the lj and 2^ schilling were per-
forated. The latter was issued in two tole-
rably distinct shades — dark green and yellow
green. Since the suppression of the Ham-
burg office, unperforated copies of the 7
schilling mauve have appeared, and, though
no postmarked specimens have been met
with, the authenticity of this variety is
generally admitted.

In 1866, contemporaneously with the
emission of a series of envelopes, two new
stamps, embossed like those on the envelopes,
were issued. They were the 1\ schilling
deep lilac, and a new value, the 1^ schilling,
carmine, both very effective impressions.
The former is represented by the annexed
engraving. The latter is
of the same design minus
the exterior rectangle and
corner ornaments. In fact
the type of the 1| schilling
is precisely that of the en-
velope stamps, and the per-
forations alone g'ive it the

/^ HAMBURG ^\

ifPOSTMARKE^

appearance of a rectangle.

In the spring of 1867, the 2\ schilling
green, issued in 1864, was rather unaccount-
ably superseded by a stamp
of the first type, of the
same value. Possibly de-
preciation of the litho-
graphic stones may have
been the cause, but the
blurred lithographs were
hardly rougher than the
typographic impressions
from the new die. The second 2\ schilling
is but a seedy relation of the earlier values
of the same type ; it is watermarked, however,
like them, perforated, and owns to two dis-
tinct shades — yellow-green and blue-green,
of which the former has now become rela-
tively rare.

Had there been an embossed 2^ schilling
envelope, no doubt the die would have
been used when in 1867 a new adhesive of
that value was called for ; but to have
cut one specially to meet a temporary
demand would have been inexpedient, and
hence, so we may argue, the recourse to the
1859 design. Notwithstanding this rever-
sion to the original type, however, it is per-
missible to suppose that had the Hamburg
post-office continued in existence, a complete
series of embossed adhesives would have been
issued.

ENVELOPES.

A series of envelopes, prepared in the
Berlin printing-office, was issued on the 5th
April, 1866. The design
adopted, and here repre-
sented, was originally en-
graved for impression on
two post-office order forms
issued on the 1st January
of the same year. The
values of the latter were,
respectively, 3 sch. blue, and 4 sch. green ; the
colours are the same as those afterwards cho-
sen for the envelopes of the same denomina-
tions, and perhaps, in strictness, these money-
order stamps are collectable, inasmuch as they
represented not only the cost of the order,
but also the postage. However, leaving the
hybrids to come up for judgment at some
future time, let us examine the envelope
stamps of which they were the prototyjDes.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

The series consists of the following values
and colours : —

\ schilling,

black,
violet.

3 „

4 „
7 „

rose, crimson.

shades of orange- vermilion.

shades of ultramarine blue.

shades of yellow-green.

lilac.

They are a well-looking series ; the design
is clearly cut, and the colours brilliant.
Above the stamp is the ordinary diagonal
inscription ein halber (ein u. ein viertel,
&c, according to the value), schilling (or
SCHILLinge) post couvert in black ink.
Schilling, be it observed, is the singular, and
schilling e the plural. Now it happens that
throughout the whole of the series the
impressed stamp uniformly bears the word
schilling in the singular, whatever may be
the value, whilst the diagonal inscriptions on
the envelopes of the 3 sch., 4 sch., and 7 sch.
are in the plural. The 2 sch. envelope,
however, presents the anomaly of having the
word schilling in the singular throughout
the inscription. Hence it would seem, either
that the envelopes of 2 schillings in their en-
tirety, and the higher values, in as far as con-
cerns the embossed stamps, are examples. of
grammatical errors, or that there is a loose-
ness about the rule requiring the addition
of a final s to the word which renders
compliance with it immaterial.

There are no varieties in this series, other
than those formed by the colours, as indi-
cated by the above list, and they are simply
accidental. Of differences in the tinting
of the white paper, on which the impressions
were struck, it is unnecessary to dwell, but
the issue of four of the values on water-
marked paper must not be passed over in
silence, for they may be almost taken to
form a new series, or at least a new edition.
Their emission occurred in February, 1867.
The values constituting the watermarked
edition were struck in Hamburg, and issued
in the following colours : —
^ schilling, black.

2 „ orange-vermilion, various shades.

3 „ blue.

The design of the watermark, which was
of unusual dimensions, is here given in its
full size. The envelopes which bear it are

further distinguished by the fact that in
the diagonal inscriptions, the word schilling
is always in the singular, notwithstanding
that the value may be in the plural. It only
remains to add, that the 3 sch., although
prepared for service, was never really issued,
and at the end of the year in which the
watermarked envelopes made their appear-
ance, the Hamburg service and its stamps
were suppressed.

It will be remarked that the intermediate
values between the h sch. and the 2 sch.
do not figui-c in the watermarked edit ion.
The reason, as far as concerns the 1} sch.,
is that that value had been suppressed, and
in consequence of its short currency, the
unwatermarked lj schilling envelope has
become rare. This has led to its being re-
printed. The easiest way to distinguish the
reprint from the original, is to examine the
words post-couvert in the diagonal inscription ;
in original copies these words are united by
a line, in the reprints by a dot.

POST CARD.

The following was published in The Phila-
telist for February, 1*71 . " We are indebted

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

to a correspondent for the description of a
North German (presumably local for Ham-
burg) post card, as follows : size, 7\ inches
by 4| in. nearly ; very pale buff. Inscribed,

NORD DEUTSCHES POST-GEBIET C0RRESP0NDENZ-

karte, &c. A rectangle in the right-hand
upper corner contains the violet Hamburg
adhesive ■without value, and the back of the
card is ruled longitudinally with eleven fine
dotted lines in grey." This is circumstantial
enough, but I have never seen any such a
card myself, nor can I trace the slightest
reference to it in any other journal.

ESSAYS, proofs, &c.

Tn the early days of stamp-collecting,
frequent inquiries were made for a Hamburg
" Interpostal ?' stamp, for which Lallier had
allotted a space in his album. No such
stamp, however, ever existed ; but what
appears to have been so christened by
the careless French compiler, was an oblong
impression, mentioned by Levrault as an
essay, engraved in 1858, a year before the
first emission, and containing the figure 1 in
the centre on castle, schg. on each side,

FR. STADT. HAMBURG above, and POSTMARKE

beneath. This essay, which I described
in an article published in The Stamp-Collec-
tor's Magazine in 1865, was printed on a
delicate rose ground in black ink, on white
paper.

" No end " of proofs of the ordinary
adhesives exist, and they are of no real value,
having been struck off to meet, or rather to
create a demand. It is needless to catalogue
either them or the " Instruction " stamps,
similar to those of Bavaria, of which the
use has already been explained.

LOCAL STAMPS.

The Hamburg locals may be dismissed
with but few remarks. They were issued at
a time when Hamburg was just getting a
name it has never since lost for forgeries,
and when the claims of any coloured bit of
paper to be considered a stamp were not too
closely examined. The statement that the
Hamburg Boten were issued by a company
of merchants for the prepayment of a charge
for the delivery of letters within the city,
was accepted with but slight hesitation.

Immediately afterwards, spaces were found
in the leading albums — Moens' and Lallier's
— for the 116 varieties which had been so
successfully foisted on the philatelic public.
Since then — indeed, very soon after their
recognition — it was discovered that they were
worthless, and they might have been rele-
gated to the limbo of spurious impressions,
had they not been included in the albums
above referred to. They have never since
been expunged from them, but everyone
knows that they are utterly valueless, — the
Scheerenbecks, Hamers, Krantzs, Lafrenzs,
and Van Diemens ; — and the one thing to be
done by everyone who wishes to keep clear
of "Vermin" is to abstain from collecting
them. Even those who have albums in
which space is allotted ■ for the Hamburg
locals would do better to fill the pages with
no matter what genuine stamps, rather than
cover the spaces for mere regularity's sake
with a set of gaudy and meaningless hum-
bugs.

NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED
STAMPS.

Newfoundland. — The most notable philatelic
event of the month, in our estimation, is the
appearance of the Newfoundland post card,
which, as a veritable work of art, we think far
superior to any of its brethren. A wood-
engraving of the design would be veiy costly,
and yet, from its nature, would fail in repro-
ducing meritoriously those delicate details
which lend such a charm to the whole ; we
must therefore beg our readers to be satisfied
with a written description of the card. It
is considerably under the average size, mea-
suring hardly 4<| by 1\ inches. The bor-
der is unusually broad, and is filled with a
link pattern of pleasing appearance ; the
corners are rounded off with a foliate orna-
ment containing a kind of Maltese cross on
shaded ground. Within the frame in the
upper right corner is an impression from the
die of the one-cent adhesive. The word
Newfoundland is inscribed in effective letters
on an arched scroll which crosses the card.
The initial letter of the word is in a tastefully
designed shield from which depends an orna-
mental disk bearing the word to in German

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

text. In a straight line below the name
cjmes the inscription post card on a straight
and slightly embellished label, below which
again is the usual legend: — the address

ONLY TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE. The entire

space within the frame is covered with a
ground of very fine diagonal lines, which all
spring from the lower left corner and widen
out. Between these lines a still finer net-
work pattern may be discerned. The entire
design, groundwork included, is printed in a
rich chrome-green, which on pure white card
contributes not a little to heighten the effect.
Less surprise may be felt at the possession of
such a chef-d'ceiivre by tli3 Newfoundlanders
when we add that it is the work of the
American Bank Note Company, whose imprint
appears in the lower margin. To render
complete our notice of an emission of which
we really cannot speak otherwise than enthu-
siastically, we have only to say that the back
is entirely blank. The expected 3 c. adhesive
blue, has made its debut at the same time as
the card. It is identical in design with the
3 c. red, and in colour with the 12| c. Can-
adian.

Argentine Republic. — -Were it not for the
appearance of the Newfoundland card, the

two new Argentine stamps which are here
represented would have an unquestionable
claim to b3 treated as the lions of the
moment. The card comes from the American
Bank Note Co. ; the stamps are printed by its
rival, the National Bank Note Co., and' the
latter form a worthy continuation of the
series whose currency was inaugurated in
1867. From an official notice issued by the
Argentine Postmaster General we learn' that
the effigy on the one cent stamp is that of
Gen. Antonio Balcarce, and that on the four
cent, Dr. Marian.) Moreno. Win ! claims these
worthies may have on the national gratitude

we know not, but we trust that the obliging
correspondent, whom we have to thank for
communication of the specimens whence, our
engravings are copied, will favour us with
some particulars of the livesof the twoperson-
ages whose portraits will henceforth grace
our albums.

The colour of the one cent is violet ; of the
four cents, brown. Their emission was
authorised by the Postal Tariff Law of the
2nd September, 1872, and they came into
use on the 15th March last. They are spe-
cially intended for the prepayment of prices-
current and commercial circulars, for the
prepayment of the extra fee for delivering
prepaid letters at the recipient's house, ami
for the prepayment of correspondence for
the United States under the terms of the
postal law, which will shortly be in oper-
ation. They are printed in colour on white,
and perforated like the other values.

Belgium. — Annexed is a representation of
the design of the Belgian envelope stamp ;
and as the original has
found favour in the eyes
of that arch critic, M.
Moens, who must be in a
good position to judge of
his countryman's produc-
tion, we can do nothing
but echo his opinion,
and declare the type to
be very good. Certainly
the design is simple enough, and resembles
in general appearance the Austrian scries
of 1861. As to its effect, that must
necessarily depend on the execution, all we
can now say being that it sec. us to be
well proportioned. It is the work of the
engraver of the current Portuguese series —
Mr. C. Wiener — whose initials appear below
the portrait. Rumour runs that it is to be
struck in green on two inconvenient square
sizes. The 1st of May was fixed fort lie emis-
sion, but it will be some time in fact before
the supplies can be issued, as the envelopes
which had been sent in to be stamped were
rejected by the post-office, and were not
replaced with sufficient promptitude to admit
of the issue taking place at the original
date. The Belgian public would, it seems,
have been gratified if a similar measure had

THE STAMP -COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

been applied to the last supply of postal
cards. Bitter complaints are made that the
card is no better than blotting-papor, and
no copying-ink has yet been found capable
of transmitting a copy.

Persia. -Our Brighton contemporary states
that he is enabled, on trustworthy authority,
to confirm the existence of Persian stamps
of the type of the 1867 essay, of which a few
months since we reproduced an engraving.
The impression is on thin white paper, but
the stamps are not perforated. They were
first issued in May, 1872. The sole values
known to The Philatelist's correspondent are

1 schahi, lilac,

2 „ green,

4 , , . blue centre ;

but he himself thinks he has not the whole
set, and it will be remembered that a vermi-
lion stamp was referred to at the commence-
ment of the year. The schahi equals a half-
penny. The stamps are for home use
exclusively.

Peru. — The annexed rather novel design
is that of a stamp issued for the service of
the town of Lima, on the 1st
of March of this year. It is
struck in relief, and the
stamps are printed on con-
tinuous bands of paper by
means of the Lecocq ma-
chine, to which reference has
more than once been made in
these pages. The value of the new stamp is
2 centavos, and its colour ultramarine. It is
stated that it has an horizontal pergage, by
which we can only understand that it is per-
forated at the top and bottom, but (in con-
sequence of the way in which it is printed)
not at the sides.

Tolima.— (U. S. Colombia). The doubts
expressed by the editor of The Philatelist as
to the genuineness of the 20c. stamp intro-
duced to notice by him, and illustrated in our
last number, are echoed by Le Timhre-Poste.
M. Moens aptly points out that the arms are
not those of Colombia, and that whereas the
shading of the shield on all genuine stamps
is formed of horizontal lines, which in heraldry
indicate that so much of the shield as they
cover should be coloured blue, the shading
on this new Tolima is composed of vertical

lines. The shield itself, when looked at from
a little distance, bears a fantastic resemblance
to a mask, and the creature above it is more
bat than condor. Besides this, the stamp is
perforated.

Spain. — That earnest advocate of postal
progress in Spain — Don M. P. de Figueroa —
has set the government a good example by
getting up a post card of his own. The
apology for the emission is found in the in-
scription which crosses the upper portion of
the front, and reads thus : —

" Postal Card, created in virtue of the
regulations of the 10th May, 10th June, and
7th July, 1871, which authorises its circula-
tion in Spain subject to the terms of the
Tariff of the 15th September, 1872. As the
Government shows an extreme reluctance to
issue cards, Doctor Thebussem has had this
one printed (May 1873) for his own use,
and to please his friends. (On this side write
only the address, and on the back the com-
munication.— Circulates without band or
cover. — It is good breeding to put the post-
age stamps in the upper right angle)."

We need hardly say that a gentleman who
rightly advocates the practice of politeness
even in the placing of a stamp has been
careful to mark out the space in the upper
right corner of the card, whereon the stamp
ought to be stuck. The usual lines for the
address, an exterior frame of a single line,
and corner rosettes, complete this first fore-
runner of the government emission.*

In another part of the number will be found
some interesting details, by Don Pardo de
Figueroa, of a handstamp used at Bilbao.

At the last moment a report reaches us
that a new series of stamps' is to be issued on
the 1st July, but our informant warns us
against putting too much faith in the an-
nouncement.

Bermudas. — The new threepenny stamp,
announced several months ago as "in the
press," has just been published, and we have
received specimens by the last mail. The

* Since writing the above, wc learn that the govern-
ment has actually been shamed by " Dr Thebussem's"
action, into talcing measures for the issue, at an early
date, of oflicial post cards. We cannot doubt but that the
good work thus accomplished will earn for its author the
gratitude, not only of philatelists, but also of the Spanish
mercantile community.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

stamp is printed a light orange-yellow — a
somewhat ineffective tint. It is of similar de-
sign to its predecessors, though a change in
appearance is produced by the enclosure of
the circle containing the Queen's profile in a
light octagonal frame, and the addition of
ornamented triangles at each corner to
complete the rectangle. The inscriptions fill
the npper and lower margins, and, par ex-
ception, they are in colour on white. The
watermark CC. and crown is maintained.

Russian Locals. — We transfer en Hoc to
our pages the description of no less than four
new types which our Belgian contemporary
has .paen fortunate enough to receive.

Livni (Orel). — -The Livni administration,
apparently dissatisfied with its bobbin-label
stamp, has secured the ser-
vices of an artist of an orig-
inal turn of mind, who has
produced the above grotes-
que and mystic combination.
The scene in the upper half,
it occurs to us, may be in-
tended to represent the rising
of the Phoenix, according to the engraver's
notion, — a sort of lime-kiln taking the place
of the customary embers. We had better
not guess any further, but simply wait pa-
tiently the coming of those oft-requested
explanations which no one seems able to
afford. The new and original Livni type is
printed in colour on white. There are two
varieties of the solitary value, viz., 5 kop.
pale red, and 5 kop. bright red.

Werchnie Duieproffsh (Ekaterinoslav). —
M. Moens asserts that this stamp was issued
in 1866. Either he must
be wrong, or all the state-
ments which have been
made as to the date of the
institution of the local
service must be incorrect.
We are surprised he
should content himself
affirming' that the stamp

yt3anoii

with
here
the

simply

represented was issued years before
government had sanctioned the emis-
sion of anything of the kind. It seems
to us to be a very careless or a very
oracular manner of doling out information.
The inscription signifies It wal post of Werch-

nie Dmeproffxk, and it appears that in the
orthography of the word "post" a serious
mistake has been committed which 'quite
changes the meaning of the word. The im-
pression is in black on wliite laid paper.
The design is set up from printer's types,
and there are three varieties in the Betting".

Wassyel (Nijni Novgorod). — This stamp
was at first thought to be an envelope, but
such is not the case.
The design is struck
in plain relief on bands
of yellowish white gum-
med paper — seventeen
impressions per band.
The students of em-
blems will find another
nut to crack in the cen-
tral device.

Perm (Perm). — The inconveniently large
and unpreposessing type here represented
has just been brought to light, and we pre-
sume is a new is-
sue. The value is
3 silver kopecks.
The impression is
in black or grey on
a yellowish white
wove paper. The
sheet is composed
of fourteen stamps,
eight placed verti-
cally and six hori-
zontally. The latter form as many -varieties,
but their distinguishing characteristics are
by no means remarkable.

Sizran (Simbirsk). — This is the correct
name of the district, which in our last
number was referred to as Syrvan.

BogorodsJc (.Moscow). — After all it appears
that the man on horseback is intended to
represent the victorious St. George; so, at any
rate, asserts a Russian correspondent of M.
Moens. The Czar Ivan III. (1462-1505)
adopted the byzantine eagle, but the old em-
blem St. George was blazoned on the shield
on the eagle's breasl.

Switzerland. — A gentleman writing from
Lausanne favours us with some information
which permits of our rectifying and com-
pleting the statements made in our April
number with regard to the new wrapper and

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

post card stamp. The 2 c. band, unlike its
predecessor, lias not a rose edging above and
below. Of the new type there are two bands
— the 2 c. and 5 c. ; the 5 c. post cards, of
which we doubted the existence, are in use.
The old 5 c. cards, brick-red and rose, of the
same design as the envelopes, are entirely done
away with. The 5 c. envelope impression in
left upper corner, exists in a kind of pinkish
brown, very distinct from the earlier shade.

Shanghai. — The employment of post cards
has extended to distant Shanghai, and we
should not be surprised to find the Japanese
authorities taking them into favour. The
Shanghai card is issued by the local post,
and the only attempt at ornament which it
shows is an external chain-pattern border.
Near the upper margfn is the inscription,

SHANGHAI LOCAL POST CARD,

ISSUED TO SUBSCRIBERS ONLY,

THE ADDRESS ONLY TO BE WRITTEN ON THIS SIDE.

The middle line is wrongly translated by our
Belgian contemporary, as " to be forwarded
only by the writer." - Will he permit us to
tell him that the correct translation would
be delivree anx abonnes settlement ; the double
meaning of the word " subscriber " has misled
him. At the back of the card is the legend
NOTE FOR receiver, under which is a line
crossing the stamp, and below that the words

Shanghai 187.... The impression is

in mauve on white card. The value, unindi-
cated, is one candareen.

French Post, Jerusalem. — Such is the
inscription on the stamp of which we annex
an engraving in the hope
of obtaining information
respecting it. M. Moens,
by whom it is introduced,
knows nothing of it be-
yond the fact that it is
printed in blue on white,
and that the specimen
whence our engraving"
was copied shows a portion of an obliteration
composed of black dots disposed in the form
of a lozenge, the remainder of the obliteration
having fallen on the envelope. The stamp, he
adds, has not a siispicious look about it ;
nevertheless, we much doubt its being used
for the prepayment of correspondence.

Philippines. — We are still but imperfectly
acquainted with the values of the current
series. The list given by us on page 199 of
our last November number was supposed
to be a complete one, but we now learn that
another denomination was issued, namely,

12 c. depeseta, carmine-rose (pale and bright.)

The colour of this stamp has just been
changed, and it is now issued in blue, so that
there are at present two blue stamps, assuming
the 16 c. to be still in circulation. The 62 c,
originally issued in lilac, has taken unto
itself the colour abandoned by the 12 c, and
makes its appearance in carmine-rose.

New Zealand. — In completion of the in-
formation given last month, we should state
that the new halfpenny stamp was issued on'
the 1st of January of this year, for the pur-
pose of prepaying newspapers through the
post in New Zealand only, the rate having
been reduced on that date from a penny.
New Zealand, it may be as well to remark,'
has acquired the honour of being the first of
our South Sea colonies to follow the example
of the mother country in the matter of
newspaper rates.

German Empire. — We learn from LeTlmbre-
Poste that as the 2| groschen and 9 kreuzer
adhesives may be easily confounded by gas-
light with other values of the series, they are
to be distinguished by a surcharged longitu-
dinal inscription of the value, in brown
letters. In future the 1 gr. and 3 kr. en-
velope stamps will be struck without any trans-
verse inscription.

Deccan. — The latest arrivals show some
variations in shade from the previously known
stamps ; thus the 1 anna is of a pale greyish-
brown ; the 2 anna, pale green ; the 3 anna,
yellowish-bistre ; and the 12 anna, pale blue.

Fiji Islands. — Lieut. Gibbons writes us
that he has seen the proof of a new issue for
these islands, and promises further particu-
lars by next mail.

Barbados. — The sixpence vermilion water-
marked with a large star has been received
by a recent mail.

Azores. — The 120 reis blue of the new
type has been issued.

Straits Settlements. — The 30 c. is now
printed reddish lilac.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

THE STAMPS OF LA GUAIRA.

BY THE REV. R. B. EAREE.

(Second Article.)

Those of our readers who subscribed to
The Philatelical Journal, no doubt noticed
that my articles upon the Gruaira Stamps
had been reprinted last month from that
magazine without alteration. This arose
from the fact that our publishers forwarded
me the proof to a wrong address, so that I
was unable to make the necessary alterations
in time for the May number. I am, there-
fore, under the necessity of writing a second
article in order to correct the first.* I stated
that the British packet-agents at La Gruaira
and Puerto Cabello distribute the British
letters. Mr. Meyer, however, says that the
agents forward the letters to the native
postal officials, who distribute the letters
themselves, thereby freeing our agents from
any further responsibility. This, I believe,
is correct.

With regard to the issue of 1864, the first
impressions from Die II. are well perforated ;
but, when we leave the obliquely perforated
stamps, and come to examine those with the
pointed perforation, we notice at once that
the die is getting much worn. For instance,
during the pointed-perforaticn period, the
Q in paquete gradually loses its tail, and in
the latest copies it is, to all appearance, a
simple o.

Perforation.— -I was at first tempted to
believe that the circular perforation was the
latest ; but I fancy it is now generally
thought that the different dies and perfora-
tions come in the order in which I have
placed them.

Paper. — The description of the paper on
which these stamps are printed is not quite
correct ; it should have been as follows : — ■

Die I. — Hard wove paper, varying from
yellowish to almost white. The darkest
shade is found, I believe, on the stamps
earliest printed.

Die II. — The paper used for the earliest

* The first article, originally published in The F/i/7-
atelical Journal, called forth a critique upon it, which
soon afterwards appeared in the same journal, containing
one or two corrections, suggestions, and additions, of which
I have now availed myself.

stamps of this die (especially those with ob-
lique perforation) is of a slightly bluish
tinge. It is wove, like that of Die I., 'but
much softer in texture. The later impres-
sions are, however, more like Die I. in tint.

To my reference list of Die I. may be added
a medio real, vermilion-red. This is the only
additional variety with which I have met
since the original list appeared.

The lists themselves are, very possibly, far
from being complete, but I have described
all the stamps which I have seen ; and my
object in writing these articles will be gained
if the information contained in them be of
any real use to my fellow-philatelists.

THE STAMPS OF REUNION ISLE —

ORIGINAL, REPRINTED, AND FORGED.
liY WARDEN.

Having recently been shown a pair of the
coarsest " bogus " sold by a dealer of some

repute for

£8 as veri-
table Simon

Pures,ithas

occurred to

usthatafew

remarks on

the above
subject may be useful. On looking through
the back volumes of this magazine we
find it is a long time since any notice has
been taken of the stamps, and accordingly
hope even the little we have to say may
not be unwelcome to our readers.

In vol. iv., p. 190, is the following ex-
tract from Le Timbre-Poste : — ■

The creation of these stamps was authorised by a decree
of the governor of the island, M. Doret, dated the 10th of
December, 1851. The stamps were composed of typo-
graphical designs, and each sheet contained six "im-
pressions. Only one supply was ever printed, and that
consisted of 7500 stamps of each value. Their circulation
commenced on the 1st of January, 18.52, and ceased on the
1st of January, 1860. Xo special postmark for their ob-
literation ever existed, and the few known specimens are
cancelled by a stroke of the pen.

In support of the above statements we
have no proof to offer ; nor, on the other
hand, any objections to urge against them.
On one point only have we any remark to
make. " Each sheet contained six impres-
sions;" query, six 15 c. in a 15 c. sheet, and

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

six 30 c. in a 30 c. sheet, or three of each in
a sheet compounded of the two values ?
The reprints, it is well known, show three
varieties of each value ; and as they are said
to have been " composed " from the old types,
by the setter-up of the originals, it has been
pretty generally accepted that only three
varieties of each value were issued by the
post-office. Still of this we are not quite
sure, as from the great rarity of the stamps,
it has never been possible to get together any
but a very small number for the sake of
comparison. If even a dozen of each value
could be collected, and it were found that
only throe varieties were among them, though
the probability would be fairly strong in
favour of the received opinion, it would not
be absolutely conclusive. When, therefore, we
say that our utmost efforts have only dis-
covered five 15 c. and four 30 c, stamps, it
will at once be manifest, that, in speaking of
only three varieties of each value, we are not
resting on any very solid ground. Perhaps
these lines may meet the eye of some col-
lector more fortunate than ourselves, who
may be able to furnish evidence which will
settle this point. Meanwhile, this much may
be said in favour of three varieties only :
that after close examination of all the
originals available, we have failed to detect
in the reprints any "type" not found in
the actual stamps. This is a coincidence
which could hardly have occurred, had the
elemental parts of more originals been open
to the use of the composer of the reprints.

We now proceed to compare the stamps
with the reprints, so as to furnish criteria by
which they may be distinguished.

15c.

15c.
II.

15c.
Hi.

30c.
I.

30c.
II.

30c.
III.

This diagram shows the arrangement of
the reprinted sheet ; and, in default of proof

to the contrary, we accept it as a true repre-
sentation of the original, and, whether cor-
rect or not, it will be useful for reference in
the course of these notes.

PAPER.

(i.) Originals : thin ; pale clear blue ;
slightly surfaced; soft fibre; "wove" marks
very small; made from fine pulp. This paper
seems to have been "pressed."

(ii.) Reprint No. 1 : slightly thicker; pale
dull blue ; unsurfaced ; rather softer fibre ;
" wove " marks larger ; made from not very
fine pulp ; impressed.

(iii.) ReprintNo. 2, &c. : not thin ; rather
deep dull blue ; unsurfaced ; and in other
points as last.

IMPRESSION'.

(i.) Originals: clear and strong ; no foul-
age.

(ii.) Reprint No. 1 : clear but weak ; no
foulags.

(iii.) Reprint No. 2, &c. : very coarse, and
worn in many of the latest copies, and in all
showing considerable deterioration in the
"types ; " very marked foulage.

It is suggested to us that the foulage points
to the later reprints having been struck on
undamped paper.

SIZES OF STAMPS.

15 c. (i.) Originals: ^~ inch x -|| inch.

(ii.) Reprints : ■£ inch x ~ inch.
30 c. (i.) Originals: -£• inch x yi inch.

(ii.) Reprints : ■£ inch x fi inch.
DESIGN.

The complex central devices of each value
being made up of ornamental "types," such
as are commonly found in printing-offices,
present in the reprints several small points
of difference from the originals. It was at
first our intention to enumerate these exhaus-
tively, but, on discovering that the later re-
prints varied (from wear and inferior print-
ing) in not a few minor details from the first
reprints, we found, that to make the analysis
of any use, it would be necessary to dissect
the several editions of the said reprints.
This would be a tedious process, and so we
shall confine our attention to the frames.
The variations of these, together with the

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

differences already mentioned, -will enable
anyone readily to pronounce on any specimen
submitted for judgment.

In all 15 c. (originals), outer frame of two
thick lines close together.

15 c. (reprints), outer frame of single thick
line.

In all 30 c. (originals), outer frame of two
lines, but, from their being placed very close
together, and being less thick than in the
(original) 15 c, it has a lighter appearance,
and its double nature is less evident.

30 c. (reprints), outer frame of single
thick line.

Besides these signal differences in the
outer frames of originals and reprints, there
are also minor differences; for instance, to take
15 c, variety I. ; on comparing the angles, we
observe that in the original stamp the upper
right angle is imperfectly formed, owing to
the outer lateral line meeting the inner top
line ; whereas in the reprint the lines are
placed correctly, so as to meet if pro-
longed, which, however, they fail to do
by a considerable interval. Again, if we
compare 30 c, variety I., with its reprint,
we find that, whereas it has all its corners
closed, except the right-hand lower one, the
latter has its upper left-hand angle distinctly
open.

VARIETIES OF EACH VALUE.

As we have faded to obtain original copies
of each of the six varieties, our remarks
under this head are made from the reprinted
sheet. The three of 15 c. may be dis-
tinguished by the shading of the bottom
right-hand " pearl."

I. has it shaded above.
II. „ „ „ at right.
III. ,, ,, ,, below.

To distinguish between the varieties of
the 30 c. is less easy, as the differences are
not so marked. Referring to the illustration
at the commencement of this article, it will
be observed that there is a circle at each
corner of the central device. Calling the
left-hand top one («.), and going round the
stamp from left to right (b.), (c), (<!■), we
have — using the notation of the mariners'
compass : — •

30 c, I. (a.) Broken on S.E. ; flattened above
and at left.

(b.) Broken on N. ; flattened at light.

(c.) Unbroken; flattened at right.

(d.) Unbroken ; flattened below.
II. (a.) Left side wanting.

(b.) Broken W.N.W.; flattened above.

(c.) Right side wanting.

(d.) Broken S.W, S.S.E., S.E. ; flat-
tened at left.
III. (a.) Left side wanting; broken S.S.W.,
S.S.E. ; flattened above.

(b.) Broken on E.

(c.) Broken on E.

(d.) Broken on S. and W.

FORGERIES.

Of these, at one time, there was an abun-
dant brood, and the race, though somewhat
diminished, is not yet extinct. In vol. v..
p. 177, a set of seven values is mentioned;
but as only the 15 c. coincides in denomina-
tion with an original, that alone need be
noticed. It reads jsle, and is thereby enough
condemned, apart from its square shape. In
vol. vi., p. 7, a pair of forgeries (in addition
to above) are pilloried, though so vaguely,
that we cannot identify them with any in our
possession. Turning to our own "bogus"
sets, we find the following tests amply suf-
ficient.

Originals and reprints of both values show
the breaks incidental to designs composed of
ornamental type, and also show no points of
contact between device and frame. '

Forgeries are either woodcuts or litho-
graphs, and, therefore, show none of the
breaks just mentioned. In all cases, too, the
device is made to touch the inner frame at
sides. The "£8 pair" already mentioned
are " postmarked," and so, for the most
part, are the trash sold by the Hull rogues,
and their Glasgow brethren, whereas no
specimen of the real thing has yet been
found cancelled, otherwise than by penstrokes.

CAUTION TO TYEOS.
Have nothing to do with " Reunion
stamps," unless clearly satisfied, by reference
to some competent authority, that what von
are offered is that which it professes to be.
Originals are so very rare, that von may as
well make up your minds you will never be

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

able to obtain tliem. Reprints of any but the
latest editions are bard to get, and even these
latest are not so cheap as to make it worth a
beginner's while to purchase them. Should
copies of reprint No. 1 come in your way,
our advice is, buy them, as they are decent
representations of the " unattainables, " and
always likely to be worth their present price
of 12/,- to 15/- the pair. With forgeries and
fac-similes have as little to do as possible.
Two vacant compartments in your albums
will be no disfigurement — rather an orna-
ment, as contrasted with squares filled up
with " bogus " — and you will have the
negative satisfaction, at least, of giving no
custom to the knaves.

[The writer begs to return his sincere
thanks to those English and foreign col-
lectors who have so liberally helped him
by the loan of their specimens, and by their
advice.]

A SEMI-OFFICIAL SPANISH STAMP.

BY DON MARIANO PARDO DE FIGUEROA.

On the 8th of March last the Council of
Commerce of Yiscaya published the follow-
ing notice : —

'• Owing to the insecurity of road and
rail, occasioned by the war with Don Carlos
VII., the railway company of Tudela, with
the approval of the civil governor, has en-
gaged a steam-boat to carry the postal cor-
respondence from Bilbao to the port of
Castro-Urdiales, and all letters and packets
so carried will pay a surcharge of 25 centi-
mos de real."

The above surcharge, equalling" only a
halfpenny, having been found insufficient to
cover the expenses, it has been increased
by the Council of Commerce to 10 cen-
times de peseta (one penny). Only letters
on which the extra charge has been prepaid
are sent by boat. The Council of Commerce
lacks either the power or the will to make
the charge payable at destination, and con-
sequently all letters on which the sea carriage
has not been prepaid are forwarded by the
usual land route, and no sooner do they leave
Bilbao than they fall into the hands of the
Carlists.

Letters which are to be forwarded by the
steamer must be delivered at a public office,
of whose where-
abouts due notice
has been given, and
there the extra rate
of 10 centimos de
peseta must be paid
in cash. All such
letters must bear the usual postage stamp to
cover the ordinary rate. On being delivered at
the receiving-office they are stamped with a
blue or black handstamp inscribed, like an-
nexed fac- simile, For vapor, which signifies
" per steamer. " The result of these arrange-
ments is, that only letters posted in the town of
Bilbao bear the new and necessary pass- word.
The port of Castro-Urdiales is only about
25 kilometres from Bilbao, and between that
port and the capital communications are
open.

A SERIES OF OFFICIAL STAMPS
FOR THE UNITED STATES.

BY JOSEPH J. CASEY, A.M.

During its last session Congress abolished
the franking privilege, to take effect July 1st,
1878. After this date Congress men will no
longer have the inestimable privilege of
sending home free their trunks and furniture,
law-books and inkstands, undelivered speeches
and published documents, but will have to
do as other individuals in the matter of
paying postage ; they will then have more
time to attend to the public business, and
less to spare in finding out the maximum
capacity and strength of the mail-bags.

As a consequence of the abolition of this
franking privilege, it was presumed that tbe
government, throughout all the departments,
would revert to the use of the government
postage stamps, and that the post-office would
thereby increase its revenue by over two
millions and a half of dollars, this being the
amount necessary to keep the franking privi-
lege up to the mark. But since Congress
appropriated .$2,000,000 for postage for the
departments, and sines new postage stamps
have been prepared for the exclusive use of
these departments. I presume that the

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

franking privilege has changed merely its
name.

I said new postage stamps were to be used
by the departments. The following is a
description of them.*

The medallions on the present stamps are
to be used on the stamps for the depart-
ments, but each one is to be in a different
colour and design. That for the War De-
partment has, beneath the medallion in the
lower corners, a shield ; and in the upper
corners the letters u. s., with war depart-
ment across the top, and the denomination
across the bottom of the stamp.

The Navy Department has a cable, extend-
ing around the stamp, outside of the me-
dallion, with navy department and two stars
in the upper corners, the denomination
written across the bottom, and the letters
U. S. in the lower corners.

The Treasury stamp has folds of drapery,
with heavy cords and tassels depending, on
the sides of the medallion. Treasury across
the top, and the denomination across the
bottom, and the letters it. s. in the corners,
under the word " Treasury."

Stamps for the White House have execu-
tive written across the top in large letters,,
and u. s. in the upper corners ; plain sides,
and denomination across the bottom.

The Interior stamps are the handsomest of
the series. The name of the department is

* [Our best thanks are due to Mr. W\ K. Freeman, for
communication of an extract from the New York
■Evening Telegram of 1st ult., giving precisely the same
details, both contributors having evidently obtained the
information, which they have so obligingly sent, from the
same source. As in these descriptions there is one point
which does not come out very clearly, we may take the
opportunity of saying that we understand that the
medallions are all printed in the colours used for the
stamps employed by the public, and that the specially-en-
graved framework is printed for all the values in the one
particular colour chosen for each department. Thus the
colour for the War Department being carmine, we shall
find the following varieties : —

1 cent, centre blue, frame carmine.

2 ,, ,, brown, ,, carmine.

3 „ ,, green, ,, carmine.

and so on. The only difficulty is in respect of stamps of
which the colour of the centre happens to be the same as
that chosen for the framework, as for instance, in the case
of the War Department, with the 90 c. Here, if the rule
be carried through, we shall find a carmine centre and a
carmine frame, and the same hitch must occur in respect
of one value or another in all the intended series. — Ed.]

written across the top, extending from side
to side, with stars in the upper corners, and
pillars on the sides, running from the top*, and
terminating with the letters U. S. set in relief.

The State Department stamp is very plain.
The name of the department across the top,
plain sides, with large letters, u. s., at the
lower corners, and denomination across the
bottom.

The Department of Justice has a plain
and severe looking stamp, with plain sides
and corners; department of justice written
across the top, and the letters U. s. in largo
type set in stars at the lower sides.

The Post-office Department stamp, instead
of the medallion, will have the denomination
in large figaires, and full relief in white, on
a black ground. The border of this stamp
is of exquisite workmanship, and is com-
posed of a delicate wreath of leaves entwined
around the medallion ; the letters u. s. are
in the lower corners, and two balls in the
upper corners. The reason for making the
post-offiee stamp different from the others
is, that the Post-office Department has to
distribute these stamps to 30,0' M ' postmasters
thi'oughout the country for official use, and
it will occasion less confusion, and less
opportunity for careless, ignorant, and dis-
honest postmasters to disarrange the system
by having a distinctive stamp for their own
use.

Each department has a different colour,
so that there will be no occasion' for the
correspondence to get mixed. The colour
for the War Department is carmine; the
Navy, blue; the Interior, vermilion : Stale.
green ; Treasury, velvet-brown ; Post-office,
black; Agricultural, straw colour; Depart-
ment of Justice, royal purple; Executive,
chocolate.

It was at first proposed to give to each
department adifferent and embknnat ic design,
without regard to colour ; but upon consul-
tation, it was decided to make the colour
distinctive, leaving the general design the
same for all. The shades used by the depart-
ments will be entirely different from those in
general use, so that a glance will determine
the difference. The selections of colours
have nearly all been made, and the designs
chosen.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

There is in course of preparation a design
for a special stamp, to be tised by the State
Department, to cover matter sent in despatch
bags to foreign countries. This is to be
done in two colours, with a medallion of
William H. Seward (Secretary of State
under Lincoln), engraved from the portrait
of him in Carpenter's painting of the signing
of the emancipation proclamation.

In conclusion, althoug'h having other mat-
ters to write about in this connection, let me
state that these stamps are to be forwarded
directly to the several departments by the
Bank Note Company, in requisitions from
the post-office at Washington, and that in no
case are they to be delivered to the public, or
sold to any person.

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

Advertising on French Post Cards. — A Paris
advertising agent, as well as several maisons de nouveautes
of the Boulevards, has made a contract with the Post-
master General for printing advertisements between the
margin and the edge of the new post card. Por such
permission the contractors undertake to pay the post-
office five centimes per card.

Female Employment in the United States Post-
al Service. — In answer to a circular letter from the
Director of Posts, Berlin, German y, Postmaster-General
Cresswell replies, that the number of women employed in
the postal service of the United States, is about 700, and
they discharge the duties of their respective positions to
the general acceptance of the department. — The Curiosity
Hunter.

The Thurn and Taxis Stamps. — Mr. 0. Taylor re-
marks that no remainders are procurable of the stamps in
question. This is accounted for by the fact that the Prus-
sians (owing, we understand, to a peculiar grudge against
the Prince of Thurn and Taxis, on account of his Austrian
proclivities and connections) burnt or otherwise destroyed
all the stamps and apparatus found in any of the offices of
which they took possession. — The Philatelist.

A Select Letter Service — According to the Italic,
the Empress of Russia, while in Italy, does not correspond
with the Emperor by tbe post-office. A service of couriers
has been established between Sorrento and St. Petersburg,
composed of eighteen persons, who are continually en
route between the two places. Every time the Empress
writes, as she does nearly every day. a courier starts with
the packet, which he is instructed to deliver into the
hands of the Czar himself.

A Pigeon Express for Newspapers. — The Ceylon
Observer has been attempting to run a " pigeon express"
between Galle and Colombo, and would very likely have
succeeded, had not a blood-thirsty civet-cat wriggled her-
self between the narrow bars (li in. apart) of the dovecot,
and killed five of the finest pigeons in training ; in every
case it had cut the jugular vein and sucked the blood.
The Observer hopes, however, that ere many weeks other
pigeons, now in training, will be regularly bringing from

Galle to Colombo, the budgets of news, written and printed
on thin paper for the special purpose.

How Americans use up Postage Stamps. — The
following will convey some idea of the immense number
of postage stamps used in the United States. In the space
of three months, the National Bank Note Company have
made over 143,000,000 of all denominations, valued at
over 4,000,000 dollars. During the past year 520,000,000
have been completed in a week, and 13,000,000 in a single
day. Three times as many three cent stamps as of all
other denominations combined. After them comes the
one cent, and then the two and six cent. — The last weekly
return of the company showed a manufacture of over
14,000,000 of finished stamps. — American Newspaper Re-
porter.

Fish by Post. — To send live fish in a letter by post from
Naples to London would seem at first sight an incredible
and impossible feat, and yet it has been done. Five little
sea fish, measuring each about two inches long, wrapped
up in damp sea-weed (varech) were forwarded, says the
Correspondence Ang-laise, on the 4th January, from Na-
ples to London, as a registered packet, addressed to the
Crystal Palace Aquarium. The little parcel weighed
seven ounces. It reached its destination on the morning
of the 9th. When unpacked the fish were found to be
rather exhausted, but when they were placed in a vessel
filled with sea-water, four out of the five regained their
senses, and at present swim fearlessly about in their new
domain. The travellers belong to the genus amphiocus,
which figure in almost the lowest rank of the vei'tebrated
order. — Moniteur OJficiel.

Postal Jokes. — Tears ago, when the cost of postage
was much greater than at present, jokes were sometimes
played off, the fun of which was to make a man pay
heavy postage for very unnecessary information. When
Collins, the artist, was once with some friends around
him, one of them resisted every attempt to induce him to
to stay to supper. He withdrew, and the friends in
council over the banquet resolved that the sulky guest
should be punished. Accordingly, on the following day
Collins sent him a folded sheet of foolscap, on which was
written, "After you left we had stout and oysters." The
receiver understood what was meant, but he was equally
resolved to have his revenge. Accordingly, biding his
time, he transmitted, in a feigned hand, a letter to Collins,
in which the painter read only, " Had you ? " There-
with the joke seemed at an end ; but Collins would have
the last word. He waited and waited till the matter was
almost forgotten, and then the writer of the last query
opened a letter one morning in which he had the satis-
faction of finding an answer to it in the words, " Yes, we
had." — Family Herald.

Clever Detection of a Post-Office Thief. — As is
well-known, Boston is a sort of postal head-quarters for
New England, and a very large proportion of the mails
from the South and West, intended for Maine, New
Hampshire, and Vermont, pass through that office, so that,
aside from the day force, some twenty clerks are employed
in distributing and forwarding the mails during the night.
Between November and March last, Messrs. Hunter and
Co., publishers at Hinsdale, N. II., were daily annoyed
by, and suffered great losses from, the failure of valuable
letters to reach their address. The losses Avere duly
reported to the post-office department, and agents were
put on the watch. Still, the losses continued ; letters
from California, Africa, the Sandwich Islands, and from
almost every state, from Springfield, Boston, and from
all points from which they had to pass through Boston,
started but never reached their destination. These
losses were almost entirely confined to the letters ad-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

dressed to the firm named, of which nearly a thousand
often passed through Boston in a single night ; and
although the losses daily increased — including not only
letters with coin, but also those containing money-orders,
drafts, checks, &c— no clue could be obtained to the thief.
One day, about the middle of February, Hunter and Co.,
in assorting their afternoon letters from Boston, dis-
covered a large number of letters from various states, each
of which was smoked on the back of the envelope, and
when, upon opening the entire lot, they were found to
contain nothing valuable, the conclusion was instantly
arrived at, that someone had been using a light, and,
by holding the letter over it, could easily see what letters
contained money, and those that did not were allowed to
proceed, while the others were stolen.

This clue was at once made use of, and the special agent,
at Boston for two weeks watched the employes vigilantly.
On the first of March a night-watch was established,
which soon succeeded in catching the thief in the act, the
result of which was the arrest, on the 22nd, of Frederick
W. Cooper, a night clerk at the distributing department.
Cooper, who had been employed since November last in
making up the mails which left Boston early in the
morning, had, contrary to rules, been in the habit of
reporting for duty before the designated time — 11.30 p.m.
— sometimes coming by half-past ten. This gave him the
whole field to himself, and his method was to take a
package, hold each letter over the gas-light, and steal all
letters containing money, checks, &c. The rest, with,
however, the tell-tale smoke-mark on them, were sent
forward. Just after Cooper was detected, he left the office,
and two weeks later he returned and tendered his resigna-
tion to Postmaster Burt, saying that he " could not stay
any longer." Mr. Burt replied that he probably would
stay longer than he wished, and at once arrested him.
He denied the theft in toto, and referred the officer
to his recommendations, but upon being taken before
the special agent and cross-questioned, ho broke down and
confessed. An examination followed, and in default of
bail he was committed.

Cooper's statement of the amount stolen bears no com-
parison to the amount missing, which is known to be at
least §4000 in cash, besides an immense number of money,
orders, drafts, checks, &c, all of which he had destroyed.
He appears very penitent, which is, however, very
characteristic of post-office robbers in general. Thus,
after four months of steady depredations, and after causing
great loss, annoyance, and delay to thousands who had sent
money in various sums, the thief is caged and pretty sure
to get his deserts. — The Springfield Union.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A HOME-MADE PEEMANENT ALBUM.
To (he Editor of" The Stamp -Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — Having been engaged for some time past
in the manufacture of an album for my collection of post-
age stamps, I venture to send you the following account
of my method of so doing, in hope that it may. prove inte-
resting and perhaps instructive to such of your readers as
may contemplate the performance of a similar task, pre-
mising that I do not wish to claim any great amount of
originality for my design, having picked up many hints
from letters and papers in The Stamp-Collector' s Maga-
zine; but, having done all that I am about to describe, I
may be able to give some details of the manufacture,
which could hardly be given by one who had not tried it.

The main object of my method of construction is the

attainment of permanence, by means of separate pag

fastened together in Buch a manner as to allow of the
book being at any time taken to pieces for the insertion of
fresh pages, in their proper places, or for entire re-
arrangement. My book is fastened together by strings
passed through holes, half an inch from the inner edge of
each page, which holes are prevented from splitting or en-
larging in any way by being protected by brass eyelets,
the paper being further strengthened, as will be seen
presently, by the linen hinge, which acts as a kind of
backing.

The construction which I am about to describe can, of
course, be adapted to pages of any size; but I will give the
dimensions which I have used myself. The material 1
have employed is a very thin cardboard, somewhat
thicker than the thickest drawing paper, and smoother on
one side than on the other. I find the smooth side the
best to rule lines upon, and it is, I believe, the right side
of the paper, though the appearance of the other is equally
pleasing. This cardboard is sold in sheets, twenty-two
inches by thirty, price threepence each. It makes the
book very thick; but it is more durable than any paper
would be, is less liable to wrinkle, aud is quite capable of
carrying whole envelopes and post cards without danger
of tearing.

I make the pages in two parts, which I will term, re-
spectively, the leaf and the hinge -piece. The former mea-
sures eleven inches hy eight inches, and the latter one
inch by eight inches ; the whole page being, therefore, an
oblong of twelve inches by eight inches. I cut six leaves
out of each sheet by dividing it longitudinally down the
centre, and then cutting three pieces, each eight inches
wide, out of each half; this leaves two pieces elevi n inches
long and six inches wide, out of which the hinge-piece
can be cut.

The two parts are joined together by a piece of tape
rather more than an inch-and-a-quarfer broad ; this is
pasted on so as to cover the whole of the hinge-piece,
leaving about a quarter-of-an-inch of the tape on which
to paste the edge of the leaf, between which and the
hinge-piece I leave a space of about one- sixteenth of an
inch, which allows the leaf to turn freely on the hinge
thus formed ; I find that the leaf is held quite securely by
a quarter-of-an-inch of the breadth of the tape, and the
hinge-piece is much strengthened by being completely
backed by it.

Hound the leaf I rule a line, leaving a margin three-
quarters of an inch wide at the top, bottom, and outer
side, and one-quarter of an inch at the inner side — that
next the hinge; thus forming a space of ten inches by
six-and-a-half available for the stamps.

Should you think that it would be of any interest to your
readers, I will proceed in the next number to describe my
method of arrangement, in its general principles, and
in its application to the different countries and their
various issues ; in the meantime I remain,

Yours very truly,

Norwich. ' CHETH.

[We shall have pleasure in inserting our correspondent's
promised second letter. — Ed.]

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

C. M. — Tou will find the French 10 c. brown on pink
referred to in our February number. On page 123 of
the last volume is an engraving of the current German
type, with enlarged eagle; and further reference is made
to the issue on page 186 of the same volume. We are,
nevertheless, obliged to you for writing us on the subject.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF
THE RUSSIAN LOCAL STAMPS.

RY OVERY TAYLOR.

.The following article is principally based
on information obligingly communicated by
the St. Petersburg correspondent to this
magazine, supplemented by details drawn
from the French Journal Officiel and other
papers. Its composition has been retarded,
in the expectation that further intelligence
would come to hand. Of its incomplete
character the writer is fully aware, nor
would he have ventured on publishing it,
but for the hope he entertains, that it may
act as a pioneer to worthier attempts to elu-
cidate an interesting subject.

The Russian local stamps, although they
have taken a recognised rank among postal
emissions, are but little understood. A certain
amount of incredulity respecting their bond-
fide nature is not inexcusable on the part of
collectors, seeing how many well-puffed
shams have, of late years, acquired an un-
deserved notoriety ; and the disposition to
look askance at them has been strengthened
by the assertions of well-meaning persons
who have made a few weeks' stay in Russia,
to the effect that the local stamps are
unknown to the postal officials. But the
chief obstacle to an unhesitating acceptance
of these stamps, is the vagueness of our
knowledge of the circumstances under which
they have sprung into existence, and the exact
purposes they serve. The possession of an
acquaintance with these essential facts suffices
to do away with all vestige of suspicion,
and gives to these quaint emissions an interest
they would not otherwise inspire.

Properly to understand the Russian locals,
we must take a glance at the internal economy
of the empire, starting from the great event
of 1861 — the liberation of the serfs. This
was accompanied by important edicts, regu-
lating the administration of the rural districts.
It was requisite to provide the freed men
with a system of civil government which
should educate them up to the improved
position they were thenceforth to occupy.
Previously existing institutions were there-
fore remodelled, and their benefits extended.

VOL. XI. No. 127.

Elective assemblies became the order of the
day. The Russian communes themselves
'had, in their humble way, been accustomed
for ages to regulate their internal affairs
by means of a council composed of the heads
of families of the village, elected in the
proportion of one to every five hearths. The
repartition of the taxes, the administration
of justice, the division of the communal
lands, all these duties were performed by
the assembly of elders, which met on Sundays,
in summer in the open air, in winter at the
house of the most wealthy member. . The
powers of these village parliaments were
confirmed in 1861, and at the same time,
for judicial and other purposes, the villages
were grouped together into volosths, or can-
tons, with a central council, presided over by
a chief elected among the peasants, who,
during its recesses, is assisted by a kind of
committee or delegation, consisting of the
heads of the villages forming the volosih.

An important advance in the development
of the system of government by representa-
tion, which was thus initiated in the village
administration, took place on the 1st of
January, 1864. Provincial and district re-
presentative assemblies were then established
in thirty-two * out of the seventy-six govern-
ments into which the major part of Russia is
divided, and also in the territoiy of Bessar-
abia. The following are the names of the
thirty-two governments, and as they have
a connection with the issue of local stamps,
it is as well to bear them in mind.

Chai-koff

Orel '

Taurida

Cherson

Penza

1'ambow

Ekaterinoslav

Perm

Toula

Kaluga

Petersburg

Tver

Kazan

Poltawa

Tsohernigow

Kostroma

Pskoff

Yaroslaf

Koursk

Ki.isan

"Wologda

Moscow

Samara

Woionej

Nijni Novgorod

Saratow

Wjatka

Novgorod

Simbirsk

TVladimir.

Olouetz

Smolensk

With the provincial assemblies, which are
the more important of the two, we have but
little to do. They deal, as their name import?,

* The French Journal Ojllcicl says thirty- three, but I
pi-efer to accept tin- number fixed by the St. Petersburg
correspondent, as it is accompanied with a list of the
names <>t' the governments, and is, moreover, officially
guaranteed.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

with the affairs of ike entire province or
government. Their annual sessions, which
are of twenty days' duration, are held in the
chief town of the government, and during
their vacations, a pei-manent committee
execute their decisions. Oar business is
more especially with the District Land
Assemblies, which are composed (like the
provincial assemblies) of delegates in equal
proportions, of the landed proprietors, in-
habitants of cities, and peasants within the
district. The districts, it should be observed,
are the leading sub-divisions of the govern-
ments. Some notion of their extent and
relative importance may be formed from the
fact, that in the whole of European Russia
there are but 185 of them.

To resume : the district assemblies meet
once a year for ten days. They are quite in-
dependent of each other, but are all equally
subordinate to the provincial assemblies.
Following the system adopted by the latter,
the district assembly elects a committee
consisting of a president and not more than
three assessors, to administer the district
affairs during the vacations. This com-
mittee is renewed at the end of every third
year. It holds its sittings in the chief town
of the district, where the president must have
his residence. It is called the Zemshaya
Uprava, or land court, and it is by this court
or board that the public business is really
transacted. The local postage service,
wherever established, is under its control,
and how it is worked we shall presently see.

The exact period when the first Russian
local posts were established is not known.
In fact, it is in respect of the date and cir-
cumstances of their establishment that the
greatest difficulty occurs ; for whilst on the
one hand the imperial decree authorising the
creation of such posts is dated the 5th Sep-
tember, 1870, on the other hand we find our-
selves confronted with the emissions of Bo-
gorodsk and Borowitz, which were noticed
in The Stamp-Cullector's Magazine in the
middle of 1869 ; and it is asserted that other
locals have been in existence since even an
earlier date. The missing link in the chain
of evidence is the source of the authorisation
in virtue of which these first locals appeared.
Fnfortunately we do not possess means of

tracing it, and there are but few data to
help us in our search. "We know indeed from
The St. Petersburg Gazette (See The Stalnp-
Cullectur's Magazine, vol. viii., p. 171) that
when the local boards were first established
their official correspondence was carried free,
though whether by the post-office orotherwise
is not stated, and that the ultimate withdrawal
of that privilege led to a resolution by the
land assembly of the Voronej government,
in December, 1869, to establish a local post.
We further learn that the resolution was
disapproved of by the Voronej government,
and annulled by the senate in August, 1870,
on the ground "of its not being in accordance,
in the fii'st place, with the 1114th clause of
the code, which directly prohibits the opening
of any private establishment over and above
the post-office department, for the carriage of
letters ; and, in the second place, with the im-
perial statute of 1st May, 1870, regarding
the manner of conveying the correspondence
of local courts." Now, it may well have
been that similar action on the part of the
land assemblies in other provinces may not
have met with a rebuke from the governors
of such provinces, but, on the contrary, may
have been approved of by them. This is the
most plausible explanation of the issue of the
Bogorodsk and other stamps in 1868-69.
They were in some sense irregularly issued,
for though they must have had the sanction
of the provincial authorities, their emission,
as has been seen above, was contrary to the
established law. The case of the Voronej
land assembly was probably a typical one.
Its resolutions were blamed for form's sake
by the senate, whose observations really ap-
plied to the action of other provinces besides
Voronej ; but in less than a month afterwards
the local service was regularly authorised.
The matter must have been under the con-
sideration of the government for some time
previously, for the decree reproduced below
shows a practical acquaintance with the par-
ticularities of the local service and its re-
quirements which could not have been
evoked out of a mere theoretical study.

Moreover, it must be borne in mind that
if the local posts were, as it would seem, at
first informally established in certain dis-
tricts, the land assemblies, which thus took

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

the initiative in the creation of the service,
were acting* in the interests of their con-
stituents, and the assemblies themselves
being new institutions, which required to be
developed, and not snubbed, it is possible
that the governors, and perhaps the head
administration, may have winked at the ir-
regularity of the proceedings in consideration
of the good really effected. However this
may be, the writer feels convinced that the
decree hereunder given, in spite of its*
necessarily stiff phraseology, should be looked
on as intended not only to authorise the crea-
tion of local posts, but legally to confirm,
and perhaps extend, the privileges of those
already in existence. We find in the emis-
sion of local stamps prior to the date of the
decree an apparent contradiction ; but facts
are facts, and a single good one is worth a
dozen conjectures. We know that the stamps
in question are authentic, and we knoiu that
the decree is authentic ; the only conclusion
we can draw is the one already indicated,
namely, that the issue of the stamps was
sanctioned by some authorities of whose acts
we have no knowledge at present. Admitting
the existence of these stamps, we, never-
theless, found their legality and their history
■ — equally with that of subsequently issued
series — on the decree, to which we now
proceed.

St. Petersburg, 5-17 September, 1870.

Seeing that the means at the disposal of the pos'al de-
partment are insufficient to ensure the transmission, of
the private correspondence of all the inhabitants of the
empire, more especially of those who reside in localities
which, from their geographical position, are almost en-
tirely deprived of postal communication, or which happen
to be at a great distance from the offices established by the
post ; with a view to facilitate to the inhabitants of those
countries the possibility of exchanging their corres-
pondence in the most convenient, and, above all, in the
least costly manner, and in virtue of the laws of the
Senate, dated the 27th August, of this year, I authorise
the establishment of a special local post in the localities
in which it may be needed, on the following conditions : —

1. — The local post is authorised —

a. — To carry ordinary correspondence, and also jour-
nals, circulars, remittances, registered letters, and other
packages from the post-town *>o all the more or less distant
portions of the district.

b. — To convey all such correspondence, &c, from the
district to the nearest post-office.

c. — And to carry all such correspondence between such
portions of the district as may be deprived of postal
communications.

2. — Persons wishing to receive their correspondence
through the post-office through the local post must pre-

sent at the post-office written declarations or author-
isations to that effect from the board (or court) of the dis-
trict to which they belong.

3. — The transport of local correspondence must be
confined to the cross-roads between the postal town and
the villages.

4. — The local post is authorised to employ special
postage stamps, solely on the express understanding that
their design shall differ entirely from that of the stamps
employed by the imperial post-office.

5. — The country letter-carriers of the local post may
have on their bags the arms of the government or dis-
trict, but without the post-horn.

Informing your Excellency of the arrangements made, I
have the honour to beg you to transmit to the various
offices the regulations of the local post, and to engage the
provincial tribunals to contribute on their side to its
organization, so as to ensure to the inhabitants of the dis-
trict the free interchange of their correspondence.
The Minister for Home Affairs,

(Signed) PkTNCE LOBANOFF UOSTOVSKY.
The Director,

BAUUN VELIO.

This decree was modified by a subsequent
one, dated the |-£ November, 1871, of which
the principal articles are to the following
effect : —

1. — The responsibility for the regular transmission of
the correspondence delivered by the imperial to the local
post falls on the latter, and should a registered letter be
lost, the local post must pay an indemnity of ten roubles.

2. — The local post may be worked over ail non-postal
roads, and the carriers may, if necessary, cross the post-
roads, or even go along them to reach the next by-road.

The second article forms an important
modification of the original rule, which it is
easy to understand must have led to much
unnecessary delay.

So far, then, for the laws which reg-ulate
the local post. Their execution is left with
the district land assemblies, and, perhaps —
for on this point the writer's information is
not quite clear — the provincial assemblies may
have a voice in the matter. The establish-
ment of a local post is, in the first instance,
made the subject of a vote, and if the deci-
sion of the deliberative bodies be in its
favour, the organisation of the service is left
to the local board, or land court, consisting,
as already stated, of a president and not more
than three assessors, elected for three years
by the district assembly. It is the president
of this board who is charged with the duty of
submitting the designs for the stamps to the
assembly, whose approval of them must be
obtained, and it is he who attends to the
printing, and in fact to all the arrange-
ments. He makes his report to the district
assembly; but the fashion of publishing blue-

100

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

books has not yet affected the Russian pro-
vincial councils, so that the hope for a
moment entertained by the writer of getting
official statistics respecting some of the local
posts is not likely to be gratified.

The president, who, for our purpose, is no
other than the rural postmaster, lives in the
chief town of the district. The offices of the
rural administration, or uprava, are also
situated there, and in those offices the local
postage stamps are kept.

TI13 limitation of the employment of the
local post to those persons only who obtain
authority from their local court to receive
their letters appears to be very injudicious,
more especially as it would seem to involve
the necessity of a journey to the chief town
to get there quired document ; but, perhaps,
in practice the regulation does not really
work badly. We know but very little of
Russian habits in the matter of letter writing.
Probably the peasants are as averse to cor-
respondence as in most other countries, and
the rural mails are chiefly composed of
business communications. The business
men of the district would easily obtain the
authorisation of the local board ; and, again,
it may be that personal application for the
same is not necessary. Besides providing
himself with a permit, the village inhabitant
who wishes to recaive his correspondence
through the local post must pay an annual
subscription of 1 rouble 43 kopecs, which it
may be presumed goes to meet the current
expenses of the office.

A supplementary decree, issued by the
home-office on the 25th October, 1870, to
some extent opens the privilege of the local
post to " non-subscribers " by a sensible
provision that should the sender of a letter,
of which the addressee lives elsewhere than
in a post-town, state on the envelope that he
wishes the letter to be taken to its des-
tination, the post is bound to send it.

The correspondence between the local
courts, the dispute respecting which led to
the establishment of a postal service — pro
bono publico — is carried by the local post free
of charge, as indeed might have been sup-
posed, seeing that the service really belongs
to these courts. No official stamps are em-
ployed to represent the postage, but the

letters are sealed with the seal of the district
court, and entered in a book in which the
receiving-court signs an acknowledgmenl
of receipt. The Rjeff circular stain]), en-
graved on p. 185 of the last volume of the
IS. G. M., is, in reality, merely used as a seal.

The localities served by the local post
cohiprise, not only the out-of-the-way villages,
but also not a few towns, which, happening
not to lie on the imperial post-roads, are not
'in direct communication with the state post-
office. On the other hand, villages which
are on the post-roads, get their tJimiujlt letters
by the state office, and are only indebted to
the local office for their letters from other
villages which lie off the post-road.

In the local service the rural letter carriers
must play a very important part, for, as far
as the writer can learn, no receiving-offies
exist in the villages or towns; consequently
it is the duty of the postman to deliver the
letters from, the chief town, receive the
postage clue on them, and collect the cor-
respondence for the chief town. Seeing the
distances they have to traverse, we should
have thought it was the rule to send the
postm3n out on horseback, but it appears
such is not the case. The postmen go on
foot, and make their rounds in most govern-
ments three times a week; in some, at longer
intervals.

{To be continued).

SPANISH POSTAL CHRONOLOGY.

BY DON M. P. DE FIGUEKOA..

(Trauslated from the Jierista de Correos.)
It will be admitted that bibliography and
legislation, in the matter of which we treat.
are the necessary starting-points for every
kind of disquisition. Few philatelical works
have been published in Spain, but. in
compensation, a number of laws exisr
relating to postage stamps. Leaving the list
of publications for another occasion, allow
me to submit to your appreciation the
following catalogue of postal regulations.
Excuse its omissions and redundancies, and
allow me to hope that you or your readers
will be good enough to improve it by adding
to it items which may have escaped me, and
eliminating whatever may be considered out
of place.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

101

1849.
24th Oct. and 1st Dec. — That on and after
the 1st January, 1851, the prepayment and
registration of letters shall be effected by
means of gummed paper labels which shall
bear the bust of Her Majesty the Queen, and
. that the backs of the stamps must be moist-
ened, to enable them to adhere to the enve-
lopes. Notice given that the stamps should
be put in the upper left corner, and that care
must be taken to well wet the gum to pre-
vent them from falling off. In the Carta cle
Gorreos Pastas (Madrid, 1865) and the Car-
tilla Postal de Bspana (Barcelona, 1868), both
which may be considered as official publi-
cations, it is recommended that the stamps
should be put in the- upper right corner. This
is more just, convenient, and logical.

1850 and 1851.
Nothing.

1852.

4//i September. — That black printing-ink
shall be used for the obliteration of postage
stamps.

2>rd November. — That letter-boxes shall be
placed in various parts of Madrid for the
service of the local post-office, and that
special stamps, of which the use shall be obli-
gatory, shall be fabricated for the local
correspondence.

1853.

ll//i May. — That great care should be
taken in obliterating the postage stamps to
notice if any appear doubtful. Reference is
made to the discovery of false stamps on
letters posted in Granada.

29th May. — That arrangements had been
made for the issue of postage stamps of a
new type for the ensuing year. That at the
same time corresponding stamps for the local
service recently established in Madrid, shall
be proceeded with, and that the price of one
cuarto shall be indicated on them, instead of
three cuartos as at present.

[I have not thought it necessary to quote
the dispositions which refer either directly
or indirectly to the changes in the Spanish
stamps in the years 1851, 1852, and 1853.]

8//t October. — That on and after the 15th of
this month, the postage of every single-
weight letter for the interior of Madrid will

be fixed at one cuarto, and that the stamps of
that value will consequently be issued at once,
instead of deferring the exectition of the
reform until the following year.
1854.

16th March. — On and after the 1st July,
obligatory prepayment of official corres-
pondence by means of the stamps which will
be prepared for the purpose.

[On the 1st January, 1855, these stamps
were changed, but I cannot find any decree
which sanctions the alteration in shape and
design].

16th March. — Proceedings to be taken in
respect of letters bearing used stamps, and
the punishment to be inflicted on those who
may clean or sell to the public stamps which
have passed the post.

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

The Philatelist. — In the May number the only
noticeable items, other than those of which
we have already taken leave to make use, are
found in the article1 on recent and unde-
scribed emissions. Thus, in disproof of the
statement, which originated with the defunct
Timbrophile, to the effect that the green 1 rl.
Honduras were reserved exclusively for
home, and the rose 1 rl. for foreign letters,
the editor of The Philatelist observes, that at
the April meeting of the London Philatelic
Society the envelope of a letter from
Amapala, addressed to a London firm, was
exhibited, whereon half-a-dozen of the green
Honduras adhesives appeared duly pen-post-
marked. This, however, as the learned editor
justly adds, though it militates against, does
not fully controvert, the statement referred
to, inasmuch as the employment of the green
stamp may have arisen from a temporary
lack of its pink companion. Under the title,
" Colonial Essays," the following notice ap-
pears : —

A correspondent sends two stamps for information re-
garding them, which we hope to obtain from a trustworthy
source. They are both printed in colour on white, and
perforated. One bears the numeral 1, white in centre ;
across which runs PENNY, in colour on white. The whole
on a small patterned groundwork within double-lined
frame. Red, 1 penny. The other is more elaborate.
The large numeral 1 is traversed by the word shilling,
as before, within a circle, the ground of which is engine-
turned. Fan-shaped triangles are at each corner, com-

102

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

posed of curved lines, numerals of value lying thereon.
The intermediate space has wavy lines ; double-lined
frame. Blue, 1 shilling. The perforation of these labels
proves that they were not early essays for Great Britain.
They must, consequently, be colonial.

We are inclined to question the postal
character of these mysterious designs. They
may, perhaps, do work akin to that perform-
ed by the '"instruction" stamps of some
European countries, but in any case their
claims to attention appear to us to be very
slight. If we remember aright, similar
essays were sent us several years since for
examination

The June number of The Philatelist is
well up to the usual standard. The most
remarkable article is contributed by Dr.
Magnus, and is no other than his prize essay
" On the Various Modes of Printing Postage
Stamps." The explanations of technical
processes are given with the learned doctor's
usual lucidity, and upon the appearance of
the second part of the essay (the first part
only being published in the number under
review), we purpose laying its substance be-
fore our readers. " The Stamps of St. Louis
redeemed from Obloquy " is the title of an
article translated from Le Timbre- Paste, of
which we shall have occasion to speak when
reviewing the latter journal. The " Spud
Paper " for June is from the pen of the Rev.
R. B. Earee, who worthily occupies the space
usually filled by Mr. Pemberton. The for-
geries described are some recent New Gra-
nada fabrications. The 1 c. green of 1871 is
very fairly imitated, and it is only necessary
to place a genuine copy beside the counterfeit,
to appreciate the difficulty with which the
describers of forgeries have often to contend
in specifying any one easily perceptible point
of difference between the true and the false
stamp, notwithstanding the vast difference
in the ensemble which really exists. Seen
side by side with the genuine stamp, the
poverty of the lithographed forgery is
startling, but the writer of the " Spud
Papers " must be able to point out such par-
ticularities in it as will ensure its detec-
tion without the necessity of having recourse
to comparison. Struck with the secondary
character of the points indicated by the Rev.
R. B. Earee, we sought to discover others
which if not more certain should be easier

guides to detection, and we then realised,
as our readers may also do if they please,
the difficulty of the task, and perceived that
nothing could profitably be added- to the
writer's analysis. As we have said, the exe-
cution as a whole is far inferior to that of
the real stamp, but the single notable differ-
ence consists in a flaw in the border-line, im-
mediately over the top of the s in NACK inaj
making a white spot which joins the s to the
line. In the 2 c. brown of 1872 a good test
of the forgery is supplied by the two small
scrolls across the top corners, containing the
motto of the republic, libertad in the left-
hand scroll, ORDEN in the right. In the
genuine stamp these words can easily be read,
whilst in the forgery libertad is totally un-
readable, and orden in right top corner be-
comes ORGIA.

The American Journal of Philately is new a
fortnightly publication, but as the bi-monthly
numbers are only half the size of the old
monthly issue there is no real increase in bulk,
and we are sorry to see a considerable falling
off in the attractiveness of its contents. For
the first four months of the year the journal
was filled, to the exclusion of almost all other
matter, with Mr. W. K. Freeman's mono-
graph on the United States envelopes — an
unquestionably able and exhaustive compila-
tion, but, from its very nature, calculated to
interest only a small section of our American
contemporary's host of subscribers. In our
humble opinion a succession of dinners off
a single joint, however excellent that joint
may be, is likely to exert a depressing influ-
ence on the appetite; and, whilst prepared
to render all honour to the -piece de resistance
which figured so long on our contemporary ">
bill of fare, we cannot refrain from saying
that we should have liked to have seen it ac-
companied by some tasty side-dishes, upon
the ingredients of which we might have had
the pleasure of dilating in these pages. Now
that Mr. Freeman's article has come to an
end its place is taken by reprints, anil the
decadence which is marked by the almost
entire absence of original mart' from

being of good augur for the IV Lmeri-

can philately. For this reason we eanno'.
help indulging in an almost angry feeling
at our contemporary's dulness. and if these

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

103

observations have their effect in waking him
up, we shall not be sorry. The only notice-
able feature in the more recent numbers is
the reprint of a lecture on the New York
City post-office, delivered by James Watson,
a letter-carrier, at Steinway Hall. From
this we learn that in 1623 the primitive
New York post-office came into being.
Captains of vessels bringing letters f rom the
old country began to deposit them at a coffee-
house, where they were displayed in a rack ;
and the first letter-carriers were the good-
natured hangers-on of the place who would
volunteer to take letters to those whose
visits to the coffee-house were rare. In 1764
the mail service between New York and
Philadelphia was changed from twice a
month to twice a week ; and till some years
after the revolution a boy with saddle-bags
carried the mail without overloading his
horse ; now, a large mail-car, making four or
five trips a day, is hardly sufficient to trans-
port the mails between these two cities.
Speaking of the abuse of the franking privi-
lege half a century ago, the lecturer states
that "A congress-man from New Jersey
rode his mare to Washington during Jack-
son's first term, and then franked her back
to New York, to which place she was led
tied to the mail coach ! " After that we
think we may stop.

The Sta»ip-Cullector\? Guide seems to be
going up just as the American Journal of
Philately would appear to be going down.
Its articles are original and readable. Thus,
the opening paper in the current number,
treating of the 1 c. Confederate stamp, is de-
cidedly interesting, and bears a certain imprint
of veracity and candour which disposes the
reader to place faith in the statements it con-
tains. After referring to the high prices
realised by the copies, few and far between,
which came on "the market" prior to 1871,
the writer of the article in question — W. A.
K. — goes on to give the following explana-
tion of the sudden and surprising increase
in the mmiber of specimens on sale, which
occurred about that time : —

In January, 1871, we received four hundred of the
stamps, in sheet, among a quantity of other Confederate
stamps, from a young man named Lucas, at Charleston,
South Carolina. We were surprised thereat, never before
having met with over a half dozen copies, and, supposing

from Mr. Offut's statements that very few were printed,
and none distributed to post-offices, we at once put forth
efforts to secure whatever more of the stamps there were
to be had, and also information concerning them. From
Lucas we could obtain nothing satisfactory, but later a
young man named Dodge opened a correspondence with
us, sold us several thousand of the 1 c. stamps, and pro-
mised to call at our office in New York at an early day,
and give us some facts concerning the stamps. He visited
us in June, and the story he tells we have no reason to
doubt. He is a cripple, had been south for his health,
seemed a reliable young man. We were convinced that
the stamps were genuine originals from the fact that he
had a limited quantity, which cost him nothing, and
which he sold at any price, and that he was not posted as
to the value of various stamps. His story was, that when
the Federal troops entered the city of Charleston they
ransacked the post-office, and threw the stamps into the
streets, where they were picked up by whoever wished
them. 'Ihe stamps he had were thus preserved, and he
obtained them from a lady-resident of the city who gave
them to him. He gave us the lady's name, Miss A. D.
Kobinson, and upon our writing to her, she confirmed the
story of Mr Dodge. The public now has an explanation
of the sudden appearance on the market of the "Con-
federate ones." We believe there are about 30,000 in
the hands of various parties.

Among the other articles, that on " New-
ly-discovered Novelties" (a tautological title,
by the way) is worthy of mention, as it con-
tains a description of two Confederate locals
for the town of Groliad, Texas. The design
consists of a figure of value in the centre,
goliad above, postage below ; J. A. clarke
on the left, and postmaster on the right-hand
side ; the whole within a type-set frame.
Three specimens only are known, and efforts
to obtain further information through the
postmaster have failed, because, as it is as-
serted, Mr. Clarke was so much mixed up in
the rebellion that he does not care about
being " drawn out " on any subject con-
nected with it. Of the three known speci-
mens two are of the value of 5 cents, and one
of these two has the word goliad misprinted
GOILAD ; the third stamp is a 10 cent.
Their describer omits to state in what colour
these stamps are printed. He is sanguine of
their authenticity, but without discrediting
them we would rather wait before voting for
then- admission.

The Stamp-Collecfors Chronicle is a new
publication of about the size of The Stamp-
Collector,sMaga;d}ie,contammgioi\rteeTi pages
of well-printed and well-written matter. It
hails from St. John's, N. B., and is to some
extent the successor of The Canadian P/iilutr-
list — a promising journal which, it is stated,

104

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

has been discontinued solely through the
editor's lack of time to look after it. For a
similar reason the new journal will only bo
issued once a quarter. We, for our part,
should be very glad to receive it once a month,
for we have derived considerable pleasure
from its perusal. It contains, inter alia, a
readable article on postal cards, their utility,
collection, and ai'rangement, by Mr. L. W.
Durbin (an old contributor to these pages),
and a lucid and interesting paper on the coins
and stamps of Prince Edward Island. From
the latter we learn there was never "any legal
or authorised coin for the island prior to the
advent of the 1 cent copper coin which ap-
peared in the autumn of 1871. The coins
formerly passing current in the island were
manufactured some ten (?) years ago by
some private parties — who they were never
transpired — on their own responsibility, and
as the government did not interfere to pre-
vent their circulation, they gradually came
to be accepted as legitimate and to be gene-
rally used by the inhabitants; they ceased
to be of value, however, upon the introduc-
tion of the new decimal issue." This intelli-
gence is valuable, inasmuch as the first series
of the island stamps have their denomination
expressed in the irregular currency. The
writer of the article says the coins were put
in circulation " some ten years ago." This
must bo an error or a misprint, seeing
that the stamps made their appearance in
1860, at which date the unofficial coinage
must have already acquired a currency by
prescription. The niuepenny stamp contains
an allusion to the currency in the explana-
tory legend in the lower margin, " equal to
sixpence sterling," the necessity for which,
the New Brunswick essayist deelaivs to have
remained a mystery. He affirms, on the au-
thority of a correspondent in the island pos-
tal department, that " but a few hundreds of
this value were issued, and but a very few of
that number were actually used." The accu-
racy of this statement we must take leave
to doubt. It must have been very lightly
made; for were it founded on fact, the I'd.
Prince Edward Is1 and would be an exceed-
ingly rare, instead of a tolerably common
stamp, and used specimens would be par-
ticularly scarce. We all know what is meant

by a few scores or even hundreds of stamps
scattered among the entire philatelic com-
munity. Such stamps are rarely seen on* of
good collections, whilst, in fact, the nine-
penny Prince Edward Island is hardly as
scarce as its sixpenny companion. I >ecidedly
the postal official on whom the writer relied
was either careless or mistaken in his asser-
tions.

With reference to the questionable Ecua-
dor stamps recently chronicled, the editor of
The Stamp-Collector' s Chronicle makes the
following rather remarkable statement : —

Upon reverting to our albums of bogus stamps, we find
perfect facsimiles of the half-real and the one peso in a
set of counterfeit Ecuador, which we received about a year
ago from a firm then trading in Boston.

We should like to examine the fac-similea
here referred to, as, if they can be identified
with the stamps received on this side, the
proof against them would be very strong.

Lc Timbre Paste. — The most important
article in the May and June numbers is froru
the pen of Mr. Tiffany, and treats of the St.
Louis stamps. The first portion of the article,
which appeared in the May number, goes
over ground which has already boen trodden
in the article on the "Postage Stamps of the
United States," published in the fifth volume
of this magazine. The Postage Act of 18 I 5
is recapitulated, the circumstances under
which certain provincial postmasters issued
stamps of their own are dwelt on, and cor-
roborative proof is given of the accuracy of
our own statement that the postmasters'
stamps were issued in the interval between
the passage of the Act of March 3, 1845, and
the passage of the second Postage Act in
1817. That they could not have been issued
at a later period is evidenced from the fact
that the second law forbad the postmasters
to make use of stamps of their own creation.
The pith of Mr. Tiffany's article lies in its
second portion, published in theJune number.
It contains the following extracf Erom The
Missouri Republican of the 5th November,
1 8 I ■■>.

Stamps fob Letters. — Mr. Wymer, the postinasti r,
has prepared a series of stamps, or rather marks, to be put
on letters, and to show that the postage has b ion prepaid.
The postmaster lias only followed in this instance the
practice i i New York and other towns. These stamps
are engraved. Tin y represent the ;wu\< of the state of
Missouri, and are of the value of 5 and 10 cents. They

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

105

are intended to be stuck on the letters like a wafer, and
will be very useful to business men and to all who have
to prepay a large correspondence, inasmuch as they will
prevent the necessity of having to pay for each letter at
the post-office. They will be sold at the rate of sixteen
5 c. stamps, or eight 10 c, for a dollar.

As Mr. Tiffany observes, the whole history
of the stamps is contained in this short
notice. It gives the name of the post-
master bj whom they were issued, their
valne, their employment, the date of their
issne, and the price at which they were sold ;
and it will be noticed that the postmaster is
careful to recoup himself of his outlay for en-
graving, by selling his stamps at twenty-five
per cent, above their facial and serviceable
value.

With regard to the 2 c. and 20 c, Mr.
Tiffany feels positive that they are the result
of a fraudulent speculation ; firstly, because
Mr. Kershaw, the engraver, is certain he
never engraved them ; secondly, because Mr.
Wymer, intimate as he was with Mr. Ker-
shaw, would not have sought the services of
another engraver ; and, thirdly and conclu-
sively, because there was no reason for issuing
any such values, seeing that the postal rates
wrere, respectively, 5 c. and 10 c.

Mr. Tiffany makes short work of the ob-
jections originally mooted by M. Albis, in
The Timbrephile, and commented on at the
time of their publication in these pages.
M. Albis grounded his disbelief in the stamps
principally on two facts. 1. That having
inhabited St. Louis from 1848 to 1851, he
had never seen the stamps ; to which Mr.
Tiffany answers that that is not astonishing,
seeing that the circulation of the stamps
ceased in the fall of 1847. 2. That all the
postmasters since the one named in 1845 by
President Polk, on being interrogated by
M. Albis's friend (the judge, 1ST. H.), had
denied having any knowledge of the stamps ;
to which, in reply, Mr. Tiffany triumphantly
poses the question : " As Mr. Wymer, who
was postmaster from 1845 to 1853, died in
18G5, that is to say three years before the in-
quiry was instituted, how did the judge set
to work to interrogate him ? " M. Albis
also attempted to make some capital out of
the fact that the stamps do not bear the
word cents like those of other towns ; but,
says Mr. Tiffany, " Mr. Wymer had nothing

to do with his colleagues' way of acting ; he
issued his stamps according to his own no-
tions ; the public knew what price they had
to pay for them, and he knew what he got
for them ; therefore there was no confusion
possible, and consequently no absolute ne-
cessity for putting the word cents on the
stamps."

Mr. Tiffany has very completely performed
his work in dissipating the last shadow of a
doubt as to the authenticity of the 5 c. and
10 c. St. Louis, nor has he less completely de-
monstrated the spurious character of the
2 c. and 20 c. We only regret not having
space for his entire article, of which the
above is but an outline.

NEWLY-ISSUED OR

STAMPS.

INEDITED

Our budget this month promises to be a very
meagre one. Can it be that the hot weather
has an influence on new emissions as well as
on most other mundane things ? It would
almost seem so, and the hungerer after
novelties must assuage his pangs as best he
may by the perusal of the following list.

Victoria. — From this colony we receive a
new ninepenny stamp, apparently of native
execution, and very credit-
able ' ' at that, ' ' as our Ameri-
can friends would say. The
impression reminds us to
no slight extent of the new
10 c. French, as it is in red-
dish-brown on pink. As to
the design, it is not sui'pris-
ing that a colony bearing
the name of Victoria should remain faithful
to the representation of the Queen. The
bust which adorns the stamp under notice is
rather a peculiar one ; it is distinguished by
a neck of inordinate length, which termi-
nates in a collarless robe, and consequently
has an ungraceful look. Of the face we can
say nothing, as in our specimen it is hidden
to a great extent by the obliteration. The
portrait is in a lined circle with Victoria in
an arched label above following the edge of
the circle, and NINEPENCE in a similar label
below. As is the case with most of the
Victorian stamps, the word postage is con-

10'

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

spicuous for its absence. An ornamental
border runs round the stamp, and the four
angles are filled with small shields ; those in
the upper left and lower right corners con-
tain a minute drawing- of a kangaroo, whilst
those in the opposite corners bear a re-
presentation of the emu. From this it will
be seen that the Victorian stamp engraver
has reverted to the employment of emblems,
though he has not reproduced those which
form the corner ornaments of an earlier
series. It only remains to say that the new
comer is watermarked with a single-line
figure 9.

Russian Locals. — Mariopol. — The annexed
quaint design has not hitherto been chroni-
cled. Although hardly
more than an inscribed
diagram, there is some-
thing about the arrange-
ment of it which attracts
notice, and the emblems
are decidedly remarkable.
The cross dominating the
crescent does not, how-
1 ever, make its appearance
for the first time on the Mariopol stamp, it
has already been represented on the Belozersk
3 kop. black, and its significance has never
bsen explained. There is this much, however,
of novelty in the Mariopol, that the engraver
has given us an outline of the profile of the
man in the moon. Our illustration may be
considered as almost a fac-simile of the
original, seeing that the latter is printed in
black on thick, strong, wove, well-gummed,
creamy paper. It is rather a scarce but per-
fectly genuine stamp, the few known copies
having been obtained direct from a gentleman
holding a high official position at St. Peters-
burg.

Podolsk. — A correspondent suggests that
the crutch-like arms on this stamp are really
stone-breaker's hammers. Acting on his
recommendation, we have re-examined the
stamp, and find that, as far as can be judged
from the blurred sketching of the emblems,
he is right. Searching for a reason for the
adoption of these hammers as the arms of
Podolsk, our correspondent inquires whether
that district is celebrated for its quarries ?
Being unable to reply ourselves, we invite

the attention of our Russian correspondents
to the inquiry.

S- 3eiacKoft -g

Rlasan. — After a currency extending over
about four years the diamond-shaped stamps,
figured at p. 137 of our seventh volume, have
been withdrawn, and are replaced by the two
annexed type-set designs. It will be obser-
ved that the values are the same, and we
must explain that the differences in design,
such as they are, are accidental, or we might
almost say incidental to the mode of com-
position. There are eight varieties in two
rows, of which four are of the first type
with undulated inner frame. On each sheet
these eight varieties are repeated three times.
The colour of these new stamps is violet-blue,
on thick, white, wove, rose-tinted paper. The
inscriptions are precisely the same as on the
old stamps.

Livni. — M. Moens states that the round
scalloped stamp, the nearest approach to a
bobbin label which philatelists possess, had
its value increased to 5 kop. shortly before
its suppression, although no facial evidence
of the increase was given.

United States of Colombia.— A new de-
scription of vignette or " Cubierta" has been
sent us by a lady-correspondent at Halifax,
N". S., to whom our thanks are due. It
measures only 3| inches by 2\ inches,
and is entirely type-set, having, in fact, the
appearance of a simple ticket. It is struck
in black on green, and a plain double-line
border with fancy ornaments at the corners
encloses the following inscriptions in ordi-
nary typographic characters.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE COLOMBIA.

SERVICIO DE CORREOS NACIONALES, MEDIO-PESO.

SALE DE
REMITE

CERTIFICADO ANOTADOS.

EN DE DE 187

EL ADMINISTRADOR.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

107

At the bottom, outside the border, is the
legend, supremo decreto, mato 20 de 1872.
The specimen before us has the dates filled
in, and bears the postmaster's signature. It
is handstamped franco, and bears sundry
other illegible marks. The inscriptions
denote that this label was applied to a
registered and " noted " letter, that the value
is a half-peso, and that it owes its existence
to a decree of very recent date, and of ap-
parently high authority.

Our correspondent can give us no infor-
mation respecting it, further than that she
received it from Panama with a lot of other
stamps, and that in the same parcel was a
similar label but with a large fancy border,
and inscribed certificado oficial. We should
be glad to receive further intelligence re-
specting these hitherto unknown emissions.

Bermuda. — Annexed is an engraving of
the new threepenny stamp described in our
last number. It gives a fair
idea of a stamp which is not
likely to make a noise in the
world, but will certainly go
to swell the number of grace-
ful mediocrities.

German Empire. — The
current number of the Bel-
gian journal contains a de-
scription of three secondary varieties of the
new type of the 1 gr. envelope ; the first has
a thick figure of value 3| mill, high ; and be-
tween the n of groschen and the figure on
the right-hand side are two little dots ; va-
riety ]STo. 2 shows three little dots between
the N and the figure, and the o in groschen
is not so round ; variety ISTo. 3 has a thin
figure, 4 mill, high ; and the word groschen
is composed of thinner and taller letters.

Spain. — From this distracted country we
have no further news of the reported emis-
sions, but it appears that Don M. P. de
Figueroa's post card has set the journals
talking about the neglect of the government
to provide cards for the use of the public,
and our learned contributor has received
well-merited praise for taking the initiative
in reminding the post-office of its duty.
Perhaps, however, the most striking proof of
the interest which his action has evoked is
the issue of another private post card by

some person or persons unknown. It is
identical in almost all respects with that in-
troduced by our correspondent, who, it may
be as well to mention, writes in Spain under
the nom de plume of Dr. Thebussem, and
dates his letters from Wurzburg. The new
card, however, contains the following ad-
ditional line of inscription: — edition of

1,000,000 COPIES FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT
FRIENDS OF THE GERMAN DOCTOR. The point

of the allusion lies in the fact that " the Ger-
man doctor" mentions in the inscription on
his cards that they have been struck off for
the use of his own friends.

Great Britain. — Our Brighton contempo-
rary was pleased to manifest considerable
scepticism as to the accuracy of the state-
ment made in our April number on semi-
official authority, that the then current six-
pence light-brown would be superseded by
a stamp of the same design, printed in
greyish green, of a shade similar to that of
the 96 c. Hong Kong. The new variety has,
however, made its appearance, and by this
time has fairly entered into general circula-
tion, as our unbelieving confrere must have
perceived.

France. — We have just received a buff-
coloured 10 centime post card, somewhat
larger than the preceding emissions, with the
same ornamental border as the first edition,
and the inscription prix : 10 centimes in the
centre. The figures 10 are in thick type at
least the eighth-of-an-inch high. The adhe-
sive stamp is the new 10 c. On the back,
running along the top, are four advertise-
ments in as many compartments, and one of
the advertisements appropriately consists of
the description of a Guide to Phonetic Steno-
graphy, for the use of post-card writers who
wish to keep their communications secret.
This card, we presume, to be the one of
which we quoted a description from Le Petit
Journal some time since. We observe that
the system of advertising on the back of
post-cards has been patented by the "in-
ventor," and that the card before us is one
of the 1001st series.

Roumania. — On the 1st ult. the Danubian
Principalities were to follow the lead of their
big European brothers in employing post
cards. According to Le Timbre-Poste they

1C8

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

were to be of the valne of 5 bani and 10 bani.
From tbe same source we obtain the in-
telligence that the 10 bani of the provisional
issue of 1872 has been met with on laid
paper in bright and pale ultramarine.

Heligoland. — We have received official
intelligence from the island that two new
adhesive stamps, value, respectively, j sch.
and | sch. are expected to make their appear-
ance very shortly, and that they will be ac-
companied by new post cards. We are
promised full details at an early date.

Norway. — The current series has received
a fresh addition in the shape of a one skilling,
printed in yellowish green. The new value
corresponds in other respects with the pre-
viously issued denominations.

New Granada. — The new one cent adhe-
sive exists in two shades of rose, pale and
bright, and the unpaid letter stamp 2\ c. is
no longer violet, but pensee.

Servia. — The one para yellow was, it is
said, withdrawn on the 1st June, and re-
placed by a 2 para black. This news
requires confirmation.

ERRORS OF WATERMARK ON THE

STAMPS OF NEW SOUTH WALES

AND VICTORIA.

IiY ETONIA.

Amongst the stamps of New South Wales
and Victoria are to be found numerous errors
of watermark, the result of carelessness on
the part of the printer, or of accident. To a
collector desirous of acquiring patience, and
a habit of examining objects attentively,
and of combining the acquisition with a
good deal of pleasure, an attractive field is
here opened ; for in every budget of the
late issues of these two colonies, a good
hand at detecting watermarks (which, by
the way, is no easy task to one unaccustomed
to it), will be pretty sure to discover some
error.

I am induced to write this paper, as no
monographs of the stamps of Australia have
as yet been published, to my knowledge ; if,
however, some able member of the stamp-
collecting fraternity will take the matter in
hand, I feel sure that a great boon will be
conferred on philatelic circles. Inverted and

reversed watermarks, caused by the careless-
ness of the printer, are of not unfrequent
occurrence; and are received with delight
by collectors of the " French" school, who
are thus enabled to add many varieties to
their albums ; but with intense disgust by
the true-blue "English" school, who no
doubt wish that an Irish hedge-schoolmaster
had been at hand to correct the wandering
propensities of the manipulator's mind. I
will now give a list of all the errors of water-
mark that I have been able to see or hear of,
commencing with New South Wales.

1850. — View of Sydney. The twopence blue exists
watermarked with letters forming part of the word
stamps. A specimen, showing' the letters i-. s., in
double-lined Roman capitals, is noticed in vol. viii.
of this magazine, page 13.
Unperf. :
1851. — Diademed head, large square.
Sixpence, brown; wmk. 8.
One shilling, brick-red, wmk. 8.
Per/. :

Sixpence, lilac ; wmk. 5.

,, purple, lilac; wmk. 12.
1S62. — Diademed head, rect.
Twopence blue, wmk. 5.

,, washy blue, no wmk.

,, blue; single horizontal line across stamp,

thus : *

1853. — Registration stamps, unperf.

Sixpence blue and orange, watermarked with part of
the word south. (See vol. iv., page 83.)

INVERTED WATERMARKS.

1851. — Diademed head, large square.
Unperf. :

Sixpence cinnamon, wmk. inv. 0.
Eightpence orange, ,, ,, 8.
One shilling dirty red ,, ,, 12.
Per/.:

Fivepence sage green, wmk. inv., 5.
Sixpence lilac, ,, ,, 5.

,, pale lilac, purple ; wmk. inv. 'i.
,, pale lilac, violet ; ,, ,, 12.
Eightpence orange, mauve (?) ; inv. 8.
One shilling brick-red, fawn, deep rose; wmk. inv. 12.

I have heard of a five-shilling stamp

with inverted watermark, but am rather
uncertain about it.

1856. — Diademed head, rect.

Threepence green, yellowish green, dark green ;

wmk. inv. 3.
1S62.— Diademed head.

Twopence washy blue, blue; wmk. inv. 2.

Twopence blue, wmk. inv. 5.
1864. — One penny red, wmk. inv. 1.

* [Our correspondent has omitted the two errors in the
twopence with name overarched. This stamp is found
with watermarks 5 and 1. The threepence yellow-green,
of the type of 1856, appeared in 1872 with a watermark of
a double-lined 6. — Ed.]

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

100

Begistration Stamps.

Sixpence red and blue ; wmk. inv. 6.

REVERSED WATERMARKS.

1854. Large square, perf., eightpence gamboge, rev. 8.

One shilling fawn, rose ; rev. 12.

Five shillings lilac, rev. 5/-
1862. — Twopence blue, rev. 2.
Registration Stamps.

Sixpence red and blue, rev. 6.

The current stamps of New South "Wales
are at present watermarked with a crown
and the letters N. s. w. Specimens of news-
paper bands are known watermarked with
the letters a. p. (Australian Postage or Paper),
having' a kangaroo beneath, also with a
kangaroo and emu facing each other. These
are probably essays of watermark.

"We now come to Victoria, a colony
fertile in errors, of which the »'l woWoi —
or, as a certain friend of mine would say,
the olly-polly — are to be found in the water-
marks.
1861.— Emblems.

Twopence slate, mauve ; wmk. threepence.
1862. — Figure of value at sides.

Fourpence rose ; no watermark.

,, pale and deep rose ; wmk. five shillings.

This watermark is probably not an error,

but was found on the end stamp of the row,

which consisted of fifteen, thus giving the

value of the whole row.

1863. — Laureated head in circle.

One penny green ; watermark threepence.*

,, ,, ,, ,, 4; single-lined figure.

,, ,, ,, ,, 4 ; double ,, ,,

One penny green, deep green; single-lined figure 6.
One penny dark green ; 8.

One penny green ; watermarked with part of the word
" Postage," and two perpendicular lines, thus: —

§=*! I

Two;;cnce lilac, double-lined 1.

,, lilac, pale lilac ; single-lined 4.
,, lilac, slate ; double-lined 4.
,, deep lilac, single-lined 6.
,, slate, mauve ; single- lined 8.
,, lilac, no watermark.
Fourpence rose; wmk., perpendicular lines, thus: ||||

Probably the end stamp of a row.
Eightpence orange ; double-lined letters ©K, &c,
forming part of the word Victoria.
1866.— Numeral of value at sides.

Sixpence blue ; wmk. threepence.
,, ,, „ POUHPENCE.

,, ,, ,, double-lined 1.

,, ,, ,, double-lined 4.

* [This is an error we have not met with. There is an
error sixpence which our correspondent has not chron-
icled.— Ed.]

INVERTED WATERMARKS."

1861.— Emblems.

Twopence slate, inv. twopence.
1863. — One penny green, inv. 1.
1866. — Numerals at side

Tenpence reddish-brown, inv. 10.
1871. — Same stamp, surcharged ninepence, inv. 10.

REVERSED 'WATERMARKS.

There is only one reversed watermark,
that of the tenpence reddish-brown, which
is found with a reversed 10.

The threepence purple-lilac of 1866, and
the tenpence slate of 1865, are watermarked
intentionally with a single-lined figure 8.*

THE STAMPS OF PORTUGAL.

EY THE REV. B. B. EAREE.

I have often wondered that so very little has
been written concerning these stamps, for
there is a fair amount of interest attached to
them. Ten years- ago we used to regard
them in a somewhat patriarchal light, inas-
much as they even then bore the effigies of
three sovereigns, which was a very uncom-
mon thing in those early days. Now, how-
ever, Portugal is left far behind, philateli-
cally speaking, by France, Spain, and other
more restless countries, and, as a conse-
quence, the history of her stamps remains
yet to be written. My object in writing this
article is to give as complete a list as I pos-
sibly can of the stamps of the vailous issues,
and to describe the reprints in such a man-
ner as to prevent any unwary amateur from
mistaking the latter for genuine originals.
My thanks and acknowledgments are due
to our publishers, and to M. Moens, for very
kindly placing at my disposal, for purposes
of examination and description, a large num-
ber of these stamps, especially of the issue of
1853, of which my own collection, I am sorry
to say, can boast but very few specimens.
Issue of 1853.
(Col. imp. on white. Imperf.)

Paper. — Rather soft, white, wove, unglazed
] in per, of medium thickness.

( i i m. — The originals of this issue are all
backed with brown gum. I wish my read-
ers to notice this fact, as the reprints have
white gum.

* [The threepence of 1866 is also found with watermark
of double-lined 1. — Ed ]

110

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Design. — Embossed profile of Donna Maria
to left in solid pearled circle. Framework
of engine-tnrned lines. On^ the neck of the
bust are the initials f. b. f., which stand for
the name of the engraver, Francisco de Bor-
ges Frcire.

List.

5 reis, chocolate, v. pale to moderately dark.

5 ,, red bistre.

5 ,, yellowish brown.

25 reis chalky blue, v. from very pale to medium.

25 ,, chalky greenish blue, v. from pale to medium.

25 ,, royal blue, v. from medium to very dark.

25 ,, dark dull blue, almost indigo.

50 reis, yellow-green, v. medium to dark.

100 reis, lilac, v. pale to medium.
100 „ reddish lilac, medium.

The postmark usually found on the
stamps of this issue consists of a number
(20) of thin horizontal lines, forming a circle,
with numeral in centre. The highest nume-
ral I have seen is 150. These stamps are
occasionally found postmarked in blue ink,
but more generally in black. The postmark
is almost always very heavy, and the oil from
the ink sadly spoils the stamps, so that ob-
literated specimens do not look handsome in
the album. This is a pity, for unused origi-
nals are exceedingly difficult to obtain, and I
know several collectors who have designedly
placed the set of reprints which I am about
to describe in the post of honour for this
reason.

Reprints of the 1853 Issue.

These stamps were reprinted in 18G4, and
were soon after very common in England.
They are now much more rare, and those
who sell them for what they are, ask as
much for them as for obliterated originals, or
very nearly as much. The Stamp-Collector's
Magazine for 1869, speaking of these re-
prints, says, " The higher values have been
reprinted with such a careful regard to
colour that they cannot be distinguished
from the originals, but collectors may be as-
sured that they will not be offered the latter."
This statement I can thoroughly endorse, al-
ways excepting the fact that the originals
are backed with broivn gum, whilst the re-
prints are backed with white, or yellowish
white. This brown gum is the chief mark

by which we are able to distinguish the old
from the new. The -colours of the reprints
are brighter than those of the originals, but
in the 5 reis and 25 reis they have a streaky
look ; this is especially noticeable in the 5
reis. The dies also appear somewhat worn.

5 reis, yellowish brown.

In this stamp the coil of plaits at the back
of the head is all broken up, and the upper
part looks more like a tiny spray of ground-
ivy than anything else.

25 reis, chalky blue, somewhat dark.

In this the engine-turning in the right-
hand corners is very much blotched.

50 reis, bright yellow-green.

In this the engraver's initials on the neck
of the bust are not to be found in any of the
stamps which I have examined. The re-
prints of this value are finer than the origi-
nals.

100 reis, lilac.

Very carefully printed, but rather paler
than the normal colour of the originals.
(To be continued J.

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

A Convention for the reduction of the postage be-
tween Belgium and the United States has been signed.

Correspondence Extraordinary. — A couple were
recently married in Terre Haute, Indiana, after fourteen
years' courtship, during which they had each written and
received two letters per week, or a total of two thousand
nine hundred and twelve !

Proposed Abolition of French Post Cards. —
An agitation is being set on foot to abolish postal cards ;
the loss will be a gain to the Paris post-office in point of
revenue. The innovation is asserted to be unsuitable to
the Parisian character, as the evil doers are bo witty and
wicked that they adopt this plan for circulating slanders,
which there is no law to punish or to repress. It
never strikes the objectors that an unsealed letter can
just as well be read by the maid and house-porter as a
card, and has the addition of being more attractive and
tempting. — Court Journal.

Bees by Post. — The new practice of sending bees by
post is causing trouble. A Washington correspondent ex-
plains thus: The cage is a bloek of wood, in which are
three large holes, covered with a tine wire netting.
Seven bees, including a queen-bee, are placed in each
compartment, and are introduced through a hole in the
side of the block, which is plugged up by a piece of sponge
soaked in honey. The postmasters and clerks allege that
the honey soaks through the paper placed over the holes,
and daubs other mail matter; and besides, as one post-
master complained, the clerks in his office did not get

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Ill

through examining and studying the contrivance until
the bees stung every one of them ; and in showing them
how it was made, and how to handle it without injury,
they stung him too. — New York Times.

The Universal Postal Conference. — The Voss
Gazette of Berlin states that the points to be discussed at
the Universal Postal Conference, which was proposed two
years ago, and is now about to be held in Vienna or Berlin,
are: 1. An agreement between all European States, the
United States of America, Egypt, Algiers, Russia in Asia,
Turkey in Asia, and British North America, for a postal
union, and the formation of a uniform postal territory.
2. The introduction of a uniform rate of postage and
charge for registered letters within the limits of the
territory. 3. A uniform charge on newspapers, printed
matter, and samples. — Daily JSews.

Post-office Tea.— In a recent number we briefly
referred to a tea which is advertised under this title, and
of which the announcements are adorned with a travestie
of the penny postage stamp. The attention of the House
of Commons was drawn, about the end of May, to this
imitation of the official design, and the following is the
newspaper report of the Postmaster-general's observa-
tions :—

"In reply to Mr. Heygate,

Mr. Monsell said his attention had been called to
an advertisement of the " Post-office Tea," which pur-
ported to be 'supplied by postmasters only in Great
Britain and Ireland.' Complaints had been received
from various grocers; but, with one exception, they
were made in consequence of a medallion stamp affixed
to the advertisement, which was supposed to give some
official character to the transaction. One memorial in-
quired whether the Postmaster-general had gone into
the tea trade. (Laughter.) The post-office could prevent
the affixing of the medallion stamp on the advertisement,
but, as he was advised, there was no power to prevent the
postmasters from selling the tea."

An Anomaly. — One day last month a French com-
mercial house received a written order for goods from one
of its correspondents at Nottingham. This order was
inscribed on the back of an ordinary English post card.
Below the impressed halfpenny stamp the writer of the
"communication" had stuck a penny adhesive. The
two values combined represent just half the letter postage
to France. The card reached its destination, and no extra
postage was claimed on delivery. The two stamps, the
impressed and the adhesive one, were both cancelled, and,
so far, everything would favour the supposition that
the card had accidentally escaped detection ; but here
conies in the most curious phase of the affair. The card
bears on its face a handstamped inscription in red ink, in
a plain transverse oblong frame, not transmissible
abroad. How then, if not transmissible, did it come to
be transmitted ? The handstamped notice could not affect
the receivers. The only conjecture on which we can fall
back is, that, after having been stopped and stamped with
the above legend, the card by some accident, got mixed
again with the letters for France, and so passed. It has
been handed to us, and we keep it as a curiosity ; and also
as the well-defined shadow cast by a "coming event" in
1 the history of international postal relations.

The Prospects of Newfoundland.— From time to
time reports reach this country that Newfoundland is
about to join the Confederation ; and as the absorption of
that colony would result in the suppression of its postal
emissions, the event is one which would interest our
readers considerably, from a philatelic point of view ;
we, therefore, make no excuse for giving the following

extract from the letter of a gentleman who dates from
St. John's, Newfoundland, bearing on the possibilities
of the accomplishment of the union, and the present
prospects of the colony : —

"At present there is very little prospect of Newfound-
land becoming part of the Dominion of Canada. The
people can see no profit in handing over fifty thousand
pounds a year for the honour of being part and parcel of
the Confederacy, with but a very small voice in the
management of its affairs. We are to have a general
election in November, which, it is likely, will cause a
change of government, but there is little or no chance of
its being a confederate one under the terms offered by
Canada. We are progressing as fast as any of the maritime
provinces, and when our country becomes better known,
it will go ahead fast. At present we are the great link
connecting the Old and New Worlds by telegraph, and
sooner or later St. John's will be the landing-place
of the wealthier class of emigrants to the United States
and Canada. We have plenty of uncultivated lands as
rich as any in North America, coal, copper, lead, nickel,
iron, and marble in abundance, splendid timber, and our
seal and cod fisheries. The two latter have been our
only profitable investments for capital until the past seven
or eight years, since which copper has been worked
extensively at Tilt Cove, and with great success ; lead
at La Manche, and two companies are about opening coal
mines in Bay St. George ; an extensive deposit of lead
has also been discovered at Port-au-1'ort. Men of capital
and energy are what we want now ; and as the Dominion
mines are worked either by British or United States
capital, we cannot expect our joining the Dominion would
bring many capitalists thence to develope our mineral
wealth."

CORRESPONDENCE.

A HORRIBLE "TAIL."
To the Editor of uThe Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — Pray let me ask you to explain in your
next number (or if the matter be beyond you, please in-
sert this letter) the mysterious reference in the June
Philatelist, p. 75: "Our Balh contemporary has Mr.
Overy Taylor's continuation, in which," &c, &c. Has
Mr. 0. T. grown a tail ? Have you bought it ? Is it
exhibited to incipient Darwinists for a consideration ? Is
it a "permanent" tail? How does it like the large
German eagle, &c, &c. ?

Pardon this intrusion on the part of an anxious

OURANG-OUTANG.

THE MEETINGS OF THE LONDON rillLATELIC

SOCIETY.
To the Editor of " The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."
Dear Sir, — Your May number of The Stamp-Collec-
tor's Magazine is this day to hand. With regard to the
notice, "The London Philatelic Society," I observe that
the meeting of the 12th tilt, was thinly attended. If, as I
gather from a former announcement, the meeting is open to
all collectors, would it not ensure a larger company if the
hour of attendance were stated in each notice of future
meetings? I live in the country, and trains have to be
provided for. I could have shown something good in
Mexico to-morrow, but the absence of the above informa-
tion prevents my attendance.

Yours truly,

W. A. T.

112

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

THE STAMPED ENVELOPES OF THE

UNITED STATES.

To the Editor of" The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Siu, — Will you kindly permit me to say, through
the columns of your excellent journal, in answer to
several inquiries from British and Continental collectors,
that the papers, " The Stamped Envelopes, Wrappers, &c,
of the United States," are all from my pen. In the
January number of The American Journal of Philately,
it is so expressed.

Secondly, that I have anticipated the requirements cf
those who collect only cut copies, and it is my intention
to give a detailed list of what should be collected in order
to secure completeness in that feature.
I am,

Very sincerely,

New York. W1LLAUD K. FREEMAN.

THE HAMBURG FOST CARD.
To the Editor of" The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — In the paper on the Hamburg stamps, in
this month's number, you speak of a post card, men-
tioned in The Philatelist for February, 1871. The said
post card belongs to me, and the description given is cor-
rect. A friend of mine, who is a native of Hamburg,
obtained from his relations there a number of the Ham-
burg envelopes for me, and amongst these envelopes I
found the post card. I shall be happy to forward it for
your inspection, if you would like to see it. I considered
it at the time to be a new issue for the North German
Confederation, localised for Hamburg; but I have never
seen another copy since.

Yours faithfully, /

ROBERT B. EAREE.

The Curatarjc, Walter Belchamp,
Sudbury .

[We should be glad to take advantage of our correspond-
ent's polite offer to send us the card for examination. —
Ed.]

NOTES ON THE MAY NUMBER.
To the Editor of '"The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Sir, — The La Guaira Stamps. — There are one or
two points in the comparison of the genuine and forged
La Guaira stamps (real series), which I find it difficult to
follow. I have genuine used specimens of the h real blue
and | real pink, which differ in several respects from the
Rev. It. B. Earee's description. 1. The upper and lower
limbs of c, b, and e in cahello are equal. 2. The D of
medio, though something like an o when looked at by it-
self, differs considerably from the o in the same word.
3. The 6 in the left-hand corner is placed exactly in the
centre of a Maltese cross, and has no dot anywhere about it.

Tapers for Beginners. — Germany.— I have several
specimens of the 2 groschen blue, 1866, showing the di-
agonal shading in the upper part of the figure; the lower
part does not appear to have been shaded.
Yours truly,

Timperlcy, Cheshire. G. II. II.

P.S. — I have a 2 skilling (head) Norwegian, which
has printed on the back hskca in blue ink, and k g in
black. 1 shall be glad if you can inform me what these
marks mean. The postmark bears date 1862. — [We cannot
think the marks referred to have any postal significance.
— Eu.l

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

H. D. P., Oswego, N. Y.— We are much ohliged for
your though tfulness in sending us the newspaper illustra-
tion of the U. S. postal card.

G. C, Tours. — We regret we cannot satisfy your re-
quest. We could not guarantee the correctness of a list of
the Virginia locals issued in 1862.

R. P. M., Malta. — The "ocean penny postage" stamp
never had any operative existence, nor is it even an ad-
hesive. It formed part of the design of an envelope
issued by the advocates of an ocean postage scheme years
ago, in support of their views, and was never intended or
used to prepay postage, being simply a fancy sketch.

It. M. C, La Cha'ux-de-fonds. — " 1. The Straits Settle-
ments stamps prepay the postage at Singapore of local
letters and of letters for this and, possibly, other countries.
— 2. The best catalogue at present is that recently issued
by M. Moens, Brussels — 3. The number of stamps in a
collection forms no guide to its real worth, which depends
on the genuineness, rarity, and condition of the specimens.

A Lady Collector, Halifax, N.S.— 1. It is difficult
to recommend you a work on forged stamps, inasmuch as
those which have been published, if not out of print, as is
very probable, are more or less out of date. The descrip-
tions they contain have been rendered valueless by the
issue of fresh forgeries, and the only really useful analy-
ses are found in the Spud Papers, which have been in
course of publication by The Philatelist for the last two
or three years. Even they, however, have not been
gathered into a book, and we do not know whether it is
the intention of the authors to reprint them. To our
mind the best guide to the detection of forgeries is the
price list of a respectable dealer, and for this reason : a
stamp-importer who does a large business must go to the
fountain-head to get his supplies, therefore he obtains
them at the cheapest rate, and the competition which ex-
ists in the trade obliges him to sell them at prices which
leave him but a reasonable margin of profit. It follows
that, taking his advantages on one side, and his necessities
on the other, the prices which he quotes are the lowest
at which genuine stamps can be sold ; and if stamps
which are offered by a dealer of known integrity at a shil-
ling are advertised by some mushroom trader at two-
pence, it is a fair inference that the twopenny copies are
counterfeits. Thisargument applies, prima facie, tounused
stamps; but it is no less applicable to used stamps; for
the large dealers, who have won their position by their
honesty and enterprise combined, have correspondents in
every country, who supply them with used stamps in
quantities and on terms which the ephemeral advertiser
has no power of obtaining. In effecting the sale the
action of competition comes into play to the same extent
as with unused stamps, and specimens which are offered
at nominal prices and by unknown persons are tolerably
certain to be false. The sale of false stamps would never
have acquired its present proportions but for the existence
of a weakness on the part of collectors for great bargains.
It is very gratifying to get possession, in a fair way, of a
genuine half-crown stamp for threepence ; but the oppor-
tunity very rarely occurs, the stamps on which any such
concessions are made being almost invariably false. Our
advice to collectors is, therefore, above all things to fight
shy of great bargains, and mike up their minds to pay a
reasonable price for their stamps, if they wish to secure
genuine specimens. — 2. The first series for the French
empire was issued imperforated in 18-53-4 ; see the article
on France, p. 165 of our last volume. — 3. To this question
the best answer we can make is given in our current
article on new issues.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

113

PAPERS for BEGINNERS.— No. XXIX.

BY OVERY TAYLOK.
EUROPE.

Greece.

When first the Greek stamps made their
appearance, their classical elegance of type
created quite a furore
among the then numerous
but unscientific crowd of
stamp-collectors. An ac-
quaintance with the one
unvarying type extending
over some twelve years has,
however, somewhat dimmed
our first enthusiasm, and the defective print-
ing of the more recent editions has destroyed
the delicacy of outline which gave such a
charm to the early specimens. The design
is now — if the expression may be coined —
in ruins, and its suppression at no distant
date seems almost inevitable.

The birthplace of art contains no engraver
worthy of the name. When the Greeks —
then living under the dominion of the benefi-
cent Otho — determined on issuing postage
stamps, they wisely resolved to order them
in Paris, and for that purpose addressed
themselves to M. Barre, the engraver, and
M. Hulot, the printer of the French emissions.
The type chosen — whether prescribed by the
Grecian government or selected by M. Barre
— was a happy one. No fitter postal emblem
for the Homeric land could be found than
the head of Hermes, or, to adopt the Roman
title, Mercury — god of messengers and com-
merce— and none could more worthily have
portrayed it than M. Barre. On the Greek
stamps he is drawn with the true Grecian
profile, his head adorned with the winged
cap, called petasus, given him by Jupiter,
and the accessory portions of the design are of
that subdued and almost severe character
which befits the subject. That they were
copied from the French stamps detracts
nothing from their merit ; no more appropri-
ate framework could have been chosen than
that originally designed to enclose the profile
of the goddess of liberty.

The first edition of the Greek stamps

VOL. XI. Xo. 128.

made its appearance on the 1st October,
1861. It was printed in Paris, as has al-
ready been indicated, by M. Hulot, and was
composed of the following values : —

1 lepton chocolate-brown.

2 lepta cinnamon.
5 ,, green.

10 ,. orange.

20 „ blue.

40 ,, reddish violet.

80 ,, carmine.

All the values are printed on paper more or
less toned, and in the 10 and 40 lepta the
paper is of a decided bluish tint. The 10
lepta has a large figure 10 at the back, and
is thus distinguished from the other values.
No confusion, however, is possible with the
10 lepta of subsequent series, as the figure in
this first issue is much larger than that on
the later stamps. Reference is made in The
Philatelical Journal to the existence of speci-
mens of the first — or Paris-printed — 10 lep-
ta ivlthout the figure at the back. I have
not met with any, nor can I find any refe-
rence to them in the catalogues I have been
able to consult, but I have no hesitation in
chronicling the variety on Mr. Pemberton's
authority. In like manner I may mention
en passant, on the authority of Dr. Magnus,
that some specimens of the first 10 lepta wei'e
unofficially perforated — probably merely as
a trial or for amusement.

The striking clearness of execution of the
Paris-printed stamps in itself suffices to no
small extent to distinguish them from the
siibsequent editions printed off at Athens,
but in respect of all the values, except the 1
lepton and 2 lepta, a. more decisive test may
be applied, seeing that the Athens-printed
editions all bear on the back an impressed
numeral of value, which is generally in the
same colour as the stamp.

Two Athenian editions are distinguished
by most writers, and are thus catalogued.*

FIRST ATHENS-PRINTED EDITION.

On wove paper.

1 lepton dark brown. \ -\vitl

2 lepta bistre.

I Without nun
j at back.

* The list is taken principally from 'The J'kilutelist,
vol. i., page 71.

114

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

5
10

80
80

lepta

emerald green. ^

/ e ■ i_^^ ■ i With small

orange (on taint bluish- numeral Bt

tinted paper.) back, of the

ultramarine. f same colour

light reddish violet (on ftself.& ""^

blue-tinted paper.) j

\ With scarlet numeral
) at bark.

crimson-lake.

With numeral at back
of same colour.

40
80

With small
numeral on
back indica-
tive of the
value.

SECOND ATHENS-PRINTED EDITION.

Struck from the plates, much deteriorated,
on coarser paper, and less delicate in shade.
1 lepton light brown \

1 ,, reddish brown

2 lepta yellow-bistre, _ I ^fiST

with pink tinge.
2 „ cinnamon.
5 ,, green, with more yel- \

low in it than 2nd |

edition,
dark orange on slightly

bluish paper,
ultramarine,
reddish pink {lie de vi/i)

on blae paper,
solferino on blue paper,
light pink.

There is considerable difficulty in distin-
guishing between the first Athenian 1 lepton
and 2 lepta and their Parisian prototypes.
Perhaps it will be safe to say that the Athenian
stamps are of a deeper shade, but even this
is hardly a sure test. No similar difficulty
occurs in respect of the third edition; the
coarseness of the two lowest values, and
especially of the 1 lepton, is bat too evident.
Some of the latter are mere blotches, showing
scarcely a trace of the framework and in-
scriptions.

Although the coarse impressions are all
catalogued as forming a third edition, there
can be no doubt that there have, in fact, been
several tirages, each a little coarser than its
predecessor. These gradations in inferiority
might be remarked by an attentive observer,
but it would serve no good purpose to crowd
an overwhelming number of specimens by
way of proof into an album. The successive
workings have been accompanied with suc-

cessive variations of shad:'. Thus we find
the green 5 lepta in at least four shades : the
10 lepta in five; and the 40 lepta, the. mosl
changeable of all, in seven.

The design has remained unaltered in all
its main points, but there is -nine room for
the supposition which has been advanced,
that the shading across the cheek and
neck has been retouched and deepened. It
is easy to perceive that the lines are much
thicker and longer than on the Parisian
edition, and they could not have been brought
out by use, rather would they have been en-
tirely effaced by wear and tear. Even the
first Athenians show some difference from
the Parisian series, and in the later im-
pressions the face is fully whiskered.

The figures at the back are not always
of precisely the same shade as the design
itself. This may be specially remarked in
respect of the 40 lepta, and would seem to
indicate that the sheets are numbered at the
back in advance, and that a surplus is some-
times left over. It may here also be appro-
priate to mention that there are two varieties
of the figure at the back of the 5 lepta — a
larger and a smaller.

The collection of the three editions, even
by beginners, is to be recommended, although,
perhaps, as an exception to the usual rule.
The Parisian issue, or either of the Athe-
nian issues alone, would very inadequately
represent the Grecian emissions ; the differ-
ences in the execution are so great that,
although they simply evidence the difference
between Parisian and Athenian printing,
and are for the most part accidental, they
cannot in justice be passed over.

ESSAYS.

The Greeks possess neither stamped enve-
lopes, wrappers, official stamps, nor post ca r< Is,
but, like most other European countries,
Greece has had a couple of sets of spurious
essays fathered on it. These essays are proof
of the creative power of a demand. When
Otho abdicated, and the King of Denmark's
son succeeded to the throne of Greece, it was
fondly hoped by collectors that the accession
of the latter would be signalised by the issue
of a new series of stamps. Hardly had the
hope been expressed in the philatelic journals

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

of the day, than forthwith, mushroom-like,
up sprung two fanciful types, said to have
been submitted to the Grecian postal ad-
ministration.

The engraving of the more striking of
the two is inserted here as a souvenir
of the credulity of col-
lectors ten years ago.
Of its artistic merit my
readers can judge for
themselves. These es-
says for a time were
in great request, and
fetched comparatively
high prices, for the essay mama was then
at its zenith. Not very long after their
appearance, however, their true character
was demonstrated, and they sunk into well-
merited oblivion. Considering the unsatis-
factory state of the design of the existing
stamps, it would be matter for rejoicing

were we to learn that designs for a new
series had really been submitted.

NOTES FOR COLLECTORS.

BY A PARISIAN COLLECTOll.

{Continued from ]}age 6.)
Before closing our notes on the stamps and
envelopes of Austria proper, we should notice
that the envelopes of 1861 were again re-
printed towards the close of last year ; but
they differ in size from those of the reprint
of 1866, and also in the letters of the words
brief couverts. A newspaper band was
also issued in 1872, for a description of which
we refer our readers to vol. x., p. 171, of this
magazine.

^Utstrian-Etaln ancj foreign
branch (Offices.

At the same time that the Austrian empire
created a series of stamps for home use, a
scries was also created for those parts of the
empire where the accounts were kept in lire
ai : centesimi, as also for the use of the
fi ireign branches. When the change was made
in bhe monetary system, in 1858 (sec vol x.,
p. 173), the value of the lira was made equal

to that of the florin, and was divided into
100 soldi ; the soldo and the kreuzer being
therefore equivalent in value.

FIRST SERIES.

Issued on the 1st of June, 1850. The
type appears to be identical in all respects
with that of the stamps of the first series
fo: Austria proper, save in the
enunciation of the value. Al-
most the same varieties in
colour and paper are found in
one as in the other. The
consumption of the corres-
ponding values seems, how-
ever, to have been different,
for the smaller values are comparatively
scarcer ; and thus the varieties of shade in
the 5 centesimi are not so numerous.

Classification.

I. — Handmade paper, varying in thickness.

5 cents, orange -yellow (shades), chrome -yellow
(shades).

intense black, black.

vermilion (shades).

vermilion on ribbed paper, or paper show-
ing veri/ewes.*

red-brown (shades), warm brown (shade.-).

warm brown on ribbed paper.

Prussian blue (shades), light dull blue.

Prussian blue (intermediate shade), on
ribbed paper.

|OCE\TKS

II. — Wove thick paper.

5 cents, Naples vellow, to light chrome-yellow,
black.
scarlet (shades), to light brick.

10
15
30
45

light brown.

light Prussian blue.

SECOND SERIES.

Issued 1st of November, 1858. Printed
on white wove paper, and perforated 1">.
Identical in type with the corresponding
values in the second series for Austria proper.

Classification.

2 soldi, Naples yellow, light chrome -yellow (shades).

3 „ black, intense black.

5 ,, vermilion, brick-red (shades).
10 ,, light umber-brown, reddish brown.
15 ,, Prussian blue (shades), light blue.

* Since the classification of the first series for Austria
proper (vol. x., p. 126), Mr. Pemberton has shoivn us a
specimen of the 3 kr. scarlet on laid paper with wide
vergeures. lie also mentions a 3 kr. of this teries, printed
by error in brown, but we have not ourselves met with it.

116

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

THIRD SERIES;
No general series of adhesive stamps was
issued on the 1st of January, 1861, when
a series of envelopes was issued, corres-
ponding in design and in their values with
the series issued at that date for Austria
proper. These envelopes, like those of the
kreuzer series, were probably manufactured of
two sizes — the large and the ordinary ; but
only three values in the large size are known
to exist, viz., the 5 soldi, 10 soldi, and 15 soldi.
The entire series is printed on white wove,
soft, unsurfaced paper. These envelopes, like
those of the kreuzer series, were reprinted in
1866 in the ordinary size ; but the reprints
are distinguishable from the originals by
the same marks as the reprints of the kreuzer
series, viz., the difference in the form of the
side flaps, and the watermark of one or
more of the letters composing the words

BRIEF COUVERTS.

A second reprint was made last year, bat
this may be readily distinguished from the
first reprint by the size of the envelopes,
which are about f of an inch longer, and |
of an inch wider, than the envelopes of the
latter.

The series of envelopes seems to have been
in use concurrently with the stamps of the
second series ; and though we find that the 5 "
soldi and 10 soldi, of the type of the envelopes,
were issued early in 1861, yet, on the ex-
haustion of the supply of 3 soldi black of
the second series, in August, 1862, its place
was supplied by the green of the same type,
which, it would appear, had been previously
prepared for issue, as it is perforated 15, like
its congeners, while the stamps of 1861
and subsequent years, up to 1864-5, were
perforated 14.
Classification.

I. — Stamps of same type as envelopes of
1861 ; perf. 14.

1861. — 5 soldi, brick-red and light red.
10 ,, red-brown (light).

II. — Stamps of the type of 1858 ; perf. 15.

1862. — 3 soldi, sea-green, varying in shades.*

* The stamps of 185'\ 1853, and 1861 have all been
reprinted; those of 18-39 at least twice, as also those of
1861, which appeared with the addition of the unissued
values of 2, 3, and 15 soldi of that series. All the reprints
of the stamps of 1859 and 1861 differ, however, from the
originals in the perforations.

III. — Envelopes.

3 soldi, green, light green.

5 ,, vermilion, brick-red, and light red.

10 ,, red-brown

15 ,, Prussian blue.

20 ,, orange (shades).

25 ,, warm brown.

30 ,, violet (shades).

35 ,, pale grey-brown (shades).

FOURTH SERIES.

Issued 1st July, 1863, contemporaneously
with the 4th series for Austria proper, as
the kreuzer series. As in this latter series,
there are two distinct issues, one perforated
14, and the other 9|.

Of the envelopes, there appear only to be
two issues, corresponding with the 1st and
3rd of the kreuzer series. Sup., page 4.
Classification.

I. — Stamps of series op 1863.

1. Earlier issue, perforated 14.

2 soldi, Naples yellow (shades).

3 ,, sea-green (shades).
5 ,, rose (shades).

10 ,, Prussian blue (shades).
15 ,, light reddish brown. *

2. Later issue, perforated 9|.

2 soldi, Naples yellow to orange-yellow.

3 ,, sea-green, yellow-green.
5 ,, rose (shades).

10 ,, Prussian blue (shades).
15 ,, reddish brown and light ditto.
II. — Envelopes.

1. Envelopes on ordinary plain white wove paper,

surfaced, with flaps similar to those of the
series of 1861.
3 soldi, yellow-green (shades).
5 ,, rose and deep ditto.
10 ,, Prussian blue and light ditto.
15 ,, reddish brown and light umber-brown.
25 ,, violet (shades).

2. Envelopes on ordinary white wove paper, with

Haps similar in shape to those of the reprints
of the series for 1861, and with letters in
watermark as in the same reprints.
3 soldi, light green.
5 ,, rose (shades).
10 ,, Prussian blue.
15 ,, light umber-brown.
The 25 soldi is said to exist, but we have not met
with it.

FIFTH SERIES.

Issued simultaneously with the kreuzer
series. Sup., p. 5.
Classification,

I. — Stamps, perforated 9\.

2 soldi, bright yellow to orange-yellow.

3 ,, dull green (shades).

5 ,, dull rose, madder-carmine.

10 ,, Prussian blue to light ditto.

15 ,, umberbrown (shades).

25 ,, dull violet (.shades), violet^ puce.

50 ,, salmon (shades).

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

117

II. — Envelopes.

1. Size A (sup., p. 5).

3 soldi, green (shades).

5 ,, madder-carmine (shades).
10 ,, Prussian blue (shades).
15 ,, light umber-brown.
Vo ,, violet (shades).

2. Size B.

(a.) Paper same as for size A.

3 soldi, green.

5 ,, madder-carmine and light ditto.
10 ,, Prussian blue.
15 ,, light umber-brown.

(b.) Paper with letters of watermark farther apart.
25 soldi, violet.

3§ungari).

In or about the month of May, 1871, a
series of stamps was issued for the kingdom
of Hungary. These stamps
have been described so re-
cently that it will suffice to
give a simple catalogue of
them. It should be re-
marked that this series,
together with a set of en-
velopes, first appeared li-
thographed, but the series of adhesives was
quickly followed by an engraved series.
Both are perforated 9-§, and are printed
on plain, white, unwatermarked paper.

Classification.

1871. I. — Stamps lithographed.

2 kreuzer, ochre-yellow (shades).

3 ,, green (shades).

5 ,, rose, madder-carmine.
10 ,, Prussian blue (shades).
15 ,, light umber-brown.
1p ,, lilac and dark ditto.
Variety. — 5 kreuzer, rose, unperforated.

1871. II. — Journal stamp, lithographed.

Type 1, the mouth of
horn being: to the right.

the

No value (1 kr.), scarlet-vermilion
(shades) .

1871. III. — Envelopes.
3 kreuzer, green (shades).
5 ,, madder-carmine, dull
rose.

10 ,, Prussian blue (shades).
15 ,, umber-brown (shades).

1872. IV. — Stamps engraved.

2 kreuzer, dark ochre (shades), orange-yellow.

3 ,, chrome-green (shades).
5 ,, madder-carmine.

10 ,, blue (shades).

15 ,, dark brown.

25 ,, dull violet (shades).

V. — Journal stamp, lithographed. Type
2, the mouth of the horn being turned to the
left.

No value (1 kr.), scarlet-vermilion, dark brick-red.
Variety. — The same on bluish white paper.
No value (1 kr.) brick-red.

VI. — In November, 1868, two stamps of the
above type were issued, values 1 kr. and 2 kr.,
in various shades of blue and brown ; but
these are not postage stamps, being affixed
to foreign newspapers, in the same manner
and for the same purpose as those mentioned
as belonging to Austria proper, vol. x., p. 172.

Newspaper wrapper, see vol. x., p. 187.

The postal cards issued by Austria are of
such recent date that they scarcely need any
description. For the sake of reference,
however, we propose to give a list of the
different varieties in our next paper.

NEWLY-ISSUED OR

STAMPS.

INEDITED

Barbados.- — Following the fashion — for there
is a fashion in connection with the issue of
new values, especially among our widely-
scattered colonies, who
all draw their in-
spiration from the
mother-country — Bar-
bados has allowed it-
self the pleasure of
two new stamps—
a five-shilling and
a threepenny. We
have to thank our ^^TSHTlLINCSPJ
old correspondent, Air.

Daniells, for communication of early copies of
both. The threepenny is the old type, pure
and simple, printed in red-violet, perforated
and star watermarked. The design of the five
shilling is here represented, and may perhaps
give the reader to imagine that the stamp
itself is an effective one. It mig-ht be, were it

118

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

printed in some rich colour, but impressed as
it is in a pale, reddish pink, it has a poor,
washed-out look. The employment of the old
type, which is almost entirely reproduced,
is the great feature of the new stamp, the
incorporation of the design of an ordinary
rectangle being a novel idea. The inscrip-
tions are in bold, legible characters, but the
corner ornaments strike us as being very
clumsy. The watermark consists of a star
in each of the four corners. Our corres-
pondent states that the revised fourpenny,
with values added, has not yet been received,
and that new plates are being prepared for
the halfpenny and penny stamps, which
also are to have the value specified.

Roumania. — Postcards at present rule the
roavt, and form a large proportion of the
new issues. The latest
arrivals are the Roumanian,
of which the emission was
reported in our last num-
ber. The type, here repro-
duced, will certainly make
no large claims on our ad-
miration. It is prosaic in the
extreme, reminding one of
nothing more lovely than the formal Wur-
temburg envelope. Very evidently the
Roumanian authorities have not obtained this
type from Paris. However, it must be said that,
on the other hand, they have not gone to Paris
for information as to the price at which post
cards should be sold. They have not adopted
the elevated and unproductive French tariff,
but, following the example of more en-
lightened administrations, have issued the
cards at 5 bani (a halfpenny) each. Further-
inore, they have copied the Dutch innovation
of reply-paid cards, and have initiated a
further advance, in extending to the cards
the facility of registration, hitherto, we
believe, confined to letters. Among the
explanations at foot of the card, we find one
which strikes us as rather amusing : " There
is nothing to be paid to the postman." Is
it usual, Ave are led to ask, to pay the post-
man a fee on receipt of a letter ? or were the
authorities apprehensive that the public,
without the above explanation, would hardly
believe it possible that the total charge was
repn d by the impressed stamp? Re-

turning to our muttons, we have to add
that the stamp is printed in blue, and the
inscriptions in black. In the upper left
angle are the arms of Roumania, with sup-
porters and motto, Nihil sine Den, on a
crowned mantle. The date of the Act
authorising the issue of post cards — 31st
March, 1878 — is quoted above the space re-
served for the address. The card itself varies
somewhat in size, and some trifling varieties
in the inscriptions are distinguishable.

Spain. — For a wonder, the official an-
nouncement of a new series has been
promptly followed by the
apparition of the stamps
themselves. It would have
been too much to expect
that any strikingly original
type could have been con-
ceived and engraved in the
short space of time which
has followed the abdication
of King Amadeus. The officials have had
recourse to the Cuban type of 1871, and
have fitted it for service at home, as will
be seen by our engraving, by simply sub-
stituting comunicaciones for " Ultramar,
1871," and espana, on either side, for
"Correos." Nothing could have been sim-
pler. The values and colours hitherto

received are as follows :
2 c. de peseta

5
10
20
25
40
50

peseta

orange.

pink.

bright green.

black.

chocolate-brown.

dull mauve.

blue.

mauve.

brown.

and there are, no doubt, more to come, but
this instalment will, we presume, meet the
most pressing requirements of
the service, and satisfy the
Iutransigentes, to whom any-
thing that savours of royalty
is unclean. The j cent de
peseta remains in service, but
the royal crown has made
way for a mural one, — as per our illus-
tration— and the stamp is printed bright

JTorreosEsiiafia
§ I w.S.'?

CorrrnsEsimta

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

119

A German paper quoted by The Stamp
states that the Carlists have issued one-real
stamps, bearing the portrait of their chief,
and that all letters not franked by these
stamps, which fall into the hands of the in-
surgents, are destroyed.

A correspondent calls our attention to our
omission to chronicle in due course the 20 c.
mauve, head of Amadeus, issued at the begin-
ning of the present year. We must plead guilty.
Brazil. — Some two years ago we described,
on the authority of an American paper, a
new 300 reis adhesive, printed in green and

violet ; and a few months
C afterwards an esteemed

correspondent at Rio, who

jjg^ had been shown a speci-

-Ip^l'f^ f '|^|j| s men at' ^he post-office

there, informed us that

K the stamp was really

>c printed with green centre

j|<; and orange-yellow frame.

~^^S^^^0^ s Qur American contempo-

rary, m a recent number,
states that a fresh supply of this value, in
orange and green, has just been sent
down from New York by the manufacturers
• — the Continental Bank Note Company
■ — and wishes to know what has become
of the first batch, sent out in 1871.
On this point we are in a position to give our
readers, and the A. J. P. at the same time,
some information. The original supply is
still lying in the Rio post-office, awaiting the
entire exhaustion of the old small figure 300
reis, of which it appears but a small stock
now remains. The issue of the new type
will soon take place, and it is probably in
order to have a sufficient quantity in hand to
deliver out to all the post-offices, that a
further supply has been ordered from New
York. With great difficulty our friend at
Rio has succeeded in obtaining a specimen
of the forthcoming 300 reis from the post-
master there, which he has sent to us, and
which is, we believe, the only specimen at
present in this country. We annex an en-
graving of it, which will render any detailed
description unnecessary. The general ar-
rangement plainly indicates that the design
is of New York origin, whilst the differences
between this stamp and its predecessors no

less clearly show that it is not from the same
atelier as them. In fact, whilst the other
stamps were fabricated by the American, the
new-comer is the production of the Continental
Bank Note Company. The impression in two
colours also distinguishes this value from its
confreres. The portrait — a very effective one
— is in green, and the surrounding frame a
rich orange-yellow.

United States. — The post card already
described at length in these pages has made
its appearance. The
annexed engraving
will acquaint the
reader with the de-
sign of the rather
elegant impressed
stamp and the frame.
The impression is
in brown. On the
1st ult. the official
stamps were to make
their appearance, and
it appears that, in

addition to a complete set of adhesives, each
department will have its own set of envelopes,
while the Department of State (so says the
A. J. P.) will rejoice in the possession of
four additional adhesives and corresponding
envelopes, of the value of two, five, ten, and
twenty dollars, respectively. These will be
adorned with a portrait of W. H. Seward ;
and thus it will be seen that collectors of
official stamps will have to provide space in
their albums for no less than 206 new stamps
at a single stroke.

Russian Locals. — Piratin (Poltava.) —
Our Belgian contemporary gives an engrav-
ing, which we repeat,
of a stamp for the a-
bove district, said to
belong to a rural post
founded in 1868, and
abandoned for want
of support at the end
of a year. The date
both of the institution
and of the suppression
of this half-forgotten post is anterior to that
of the government decree. The resuscitation
of its stamps at the present day, though not
without several parallels, is a surprsing cir«

120

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

cumstance, as is also the suppression of the
service. M. Moens gives full details respect-
ing the stamp, and even states the number
of stamps on a sheet. We do not kuow
what may be the source of his information,
but we cannot help expressing a hope that
he has not been imposed on. Such a design
as the above — though it may well have been
chosen for a post established in an out-of-
the-way locality — is easily concocted, and
we have very few means of controlling its
authenticity.

Nolinslc (Viatka). — A Nolinsk stamp was
described as follows in the list published by
us in July, 1871 : — Numeral and value in
centre of circle, inscription in outer oval
frame, figui'e of value in each angle. Col.
imp., obi., 2 kop., green. This stamp has at
length turned up, accompanied by three
others, two of which are presumably of earlier
date, and the third is in use now.

2 |Ho«r. Map] 2

s
h

2 k.

2 | 3eMci£oif

3cjirKuii

Adopting the order in which they are
chronicled by M. Moens, and which is avow-
edly based on the facial evidence afforded by
the stamps themselves, we come first to a
square, type-printed 2 kop., in black, on
straw-coloured paper. This, there is every
reason to suppose from it primitive appear-
ance, was really the first issued. Then comes
a slightly more complex design, in which
the value is enclosed in a kind of double
parenthesis. This also is in black, on
yellowish wove paper. The third stamp is
the one already known, though not quite
correctly described. In this emission, the
value is in a double transverse oval ; the
impression is black, and the paper green.

Lastly, we come to the type in present
use, which, in some respects, resembles the
second issue, and is printed in black on
glazed, bright red paper. If we seek an
explanation for these successive emissions, all

of an equally primitive character, it will
probably prove that only one supply of each
type was printed off ; and when that was

exhausted, a fresh type was composed by the
printer from the characters nearest at hand,
and, certainly, with an eye to utility only.

Eh-iterinoslav. — It is stated by Le Timbre'
Posfe, on the authority of a correspondent,
that the letter e in the centre of the stamp
for this district does not stand for the name
of the city, but is the initial of the Empress
Catherine's name — Kamepuna. From this,
we understand that the letter E stands for
the Russian K.

Weissiegonsk. — A new series has already
made its appearance for this district, and by
the kindness of a correspondent we are en-
abled to annex an en-
graving of the design
adopted. The stamps
have rather a peculiar
look, resulting from the
manner in which they
are printed. The entire
design, inscriptions and
all, is in black ink.
The ground is coloured,
and is printed over the inscriptions which
surround the shield, whilst the external
labels are left white. The black lined
and dotted portions of the shield are
left untouched, whilst the emblems they
bear are coloured. The colour, as stated
above, is printed over the blaek. and has
been very successfully struck, :is it rarely
overlaps the white parts. In the new issue
the crustacean is clearly apparent; the
emblem in the upper part of the shield,
however, does not appear to be the same as
that on the previous type; and, seeing that
the arms of the province or government arc;
not likely to have been changed, the sub-
stitution of another device requires explana-

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

121

tion. What that other device really is we
cannot quite understand. The date below
the shield — 1870 — is also another noticeable
feature in these stamps. As they have only
just been put in circulation, it cannot ba
intended to indicate the date of emission,
and we can only conjecture that it is inserted
in commemoration of the now well-known
decree of 1870, whereby the local posts were
authorised. They are not, however, the
first to bear a reference to the legislation
which established the existing system of
provincial government ; in the Elizavetgrad
a book figures below the arms, bearing the
inscription rural administration act. Of
the new Weissiegonsk type three values only
are as yet known, viz., the \ kop., above
represented, coloured black and yellow ;
the 1 kop., black and green ; and the 5 kop.,
black and crimson. Our specimens are
clipped close round and gummed.

Great Britain. — A new threepenny stamp
— differing from its predecessor, however, in
secondary details only— quietly made its
appearance on the 15th ult. The principal
change is in the corner squares ; which,
instead of being solid, with white letters,
contain each a white octagon, in the centre
of which is a coloured letter ; the little side
disks in like manner are now white, with
coloured numerals (11). These modifications
have either necessitated, or been made the
occasion for, the re-engraving of the entire
framework, with the following results : the
foliate ornament no longer touches the
external frame ; the corner squares now
touch the inscribed frame ; the white line
running round the latter has been made
broader, at the expense of the solid part of
the frame, and, as a consequence, the inscrip-
tions are in narrower and wider letters.
Altogether, M'e are inclined to think the ap-
pearance of the stamp has been improved by
the lightening of the details. The colour
remains the same, though that also seems a
shade lighter. It will not be forgotten by our
readers that the intention of the postal
authorities is to introduce white corner disks
and coloured numerals in all the values of
this series, and it is in part execution of this
plan that we receive this new threepence.

Montenegro. — The rumour which origi-

nated with Le Timbre-Poste, that this coun-
try is about to employ postage stamps,
finds confirmation in the Gazette des Timbres,
which contains an illustration of the
adopted type, and information as to the
circumstances connected with its creation.
The design .consists of a three-quarter face
portrait of the prince of Montenegro, re-
presenting a young man of a frank, pre-
possessing aspect. Laurel branches, united
by a knot below, encircle the portrait. The
external frame is a rectangular one, with
fleur-de-lis ornaments at the corners, and in-
scriptions^ in white letters, which Dr. Magnus
translates thus : On the left, bjieega ; above,
pochte ; and on the right, TSR. GORE, signifying

POSTAGE STAMP OP TSERNAGORE. Ill the lower

margin is the denomination N0VTCH (equalling
about a kopec), preceded by the numeral of
value. This design is the work of the im-
perial printing-office at Vienna, whither the
prince went recently to visit the international
exhibition. Seven values have been printed
off, in colour on white, as follows : —

2 novtch

yellow.

3 „

green.

5 „

vermilion

7 „

violet.

10 „

blue.

15 „

bistre.

25 „

brown.

These are, however, only proofs, and there is
an eighth — a 10 novtch, blue on orange-
yellow, intended probably for journals. All
the values are to be gummed and perforated,
like the Austrian stamps. The date of issue
is not yet fixed. The characters of the in-
scriptions resemble the Russian very closely,
and Dr. Magnus explains it by the fact that
the Russian alphabet is borrowed from that
of the ecclesiastical Sclavonic. The learned
doctor concludes his notice of the stamps by
expressing his confidence in the accuracy
and good faith of the Viennese corres-
pondent from whom his information was
received.

Chili. — Our correspondent, Mr. Meyer, of
Valparaiso, has obligingly forwarded us a
frank stamp which has a curious history of its
own. It is composed of two parts : first of
all, there is the word cancelado between
branches in a transverse oval, and over this

122

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

has been struck the word FRANCA in a narrow
oblong frame with convex ends. Mr. Meyer's
explanation of their employment had better
be given in his own words : —

Enclosed is a frank which is stamped on letters coming
from the Caracoles mines. Caracoles is situate in a piece
of territory claimed by Chili and by Bolivia. The
discovery of silver mines led to a treaty between the
two countries (completed in December last), in which it
was agreed that both should share the revenue derivable
from the said mines, saltpetre, &c. According to this
arrangement, the profits of the post-office are to be
divided; and, consequently, the Bolivian stamps (which
were used at first) could no longer be employed, and the
handstamp in question came into use. The "franca"
stamp is the same as those used here for letters that go
free, and the '■ cancelado " is, for aught I know, tho
signature of the Bolivian post-office. At first they were
stamped in green, and now in black.

In the " Correspondence " columns will be
found a letter from Mr. Meyer, containing a
list of the Chilian envelopes that are at
present in use.

St. Lucia. — The annexed cut is that of a
type common to three suspicious or, at least,
doubtful stamps, which
are stated, and probably
with truth, to have been
printed in Paris. M. Moens,
though he has received
them through a gentleman
of unquestioned integrity,
is not disposed to admit them, except upon full
proof of character ; and he remarks that, by
a curious coincidence, the saints have been
specially sought after by the concocters
of stamps. Thus we find spurious emissions
for Saint Domingo, San Marino, Saint
Kitt's, Saint Thomas, &c. The three stamps
are, respectively, numbered 1 (7//., penny),
ultramarine; 3, magenta; 6, violet.*

Antigua. — The penny is now printed in
an effective deep red, with cc. and crown
watermark. The gum is much thinner than
on preceding issues ; probably a different
composition has b3en adopted, to prevent

* At the last moment before going to press, we receive
the Gazette des Timbres, which contains information that
"Messrs. Duboulay, Minvielle, & Co. have obtained the
concession of a line of steamboats between Castries, Port
Louis, and around the en'.ire coast of St. Lucia. In
virtue of an authorisation of the government, they will
work the postal service from the interior of the island,"
and to that effect have had the above series of stamps
lithographed in Paris. We leave with Dr. Magnus the
responsibility for thes3 details; he may or may not have
bsen imposed on.

that deterioration and change of colour to
which the Antigua penny are so peculiarly
liable.

Argentine Republic. — The J merican Jour-
nal of Philately states that the set of Argen-
tine stamps is to be completed by the addition
of the three following values — 30 c, 60 c,
and 90 c.

Servia. — The 2 paras, of which the issue
was reported in our last, is now in circulation,
and is of a new type, of which we expect to
be able to give an engraving in our next.

Natal. —The shilling has just come over
in a new colour — a kind of reddish violet,
with the surcharge, postage, in Romancapitals
crossing the stamp from bottom to top.

Japan. — From Le Timbre Poste we learn
that a 4 sen rose has been issued, of which
the design resembles that of the current
2 sen.

Ceylon. — The 4 cent envelope, originally
of a dull, greyish blue, is now printed bright
blue.

Finland. — Anew post card for this country
is announced.

THE STAMPS OF PORTUGAL.

BY THE REV. R. B. EAREE.

{Continued from page 110 J

The stamps bearing the effigy of Donna
Maria hardly had time to get common ; for
barely two years elapsed
before they were" replaced
by the stamps of the new
monarch. When Isaytney
had not time to get common,
I must except the 25 reis,
which cannot be ranked
with stamps of even average
rarity. I should be glad if any of our corres-
pondents would enlighten me as to the
reason why this 25 reis was so much more
used than the other three varieties. Judging
only from the appearance of the reprints,
any one would say. most unhesitatingly,
that the 5 reis ought to be much more
common than the 25 reis, or, in fact, than any
of the other values ; for the die of the said 5
reis appears to have had at least as many
impressions printed from it as all the others

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

123

put together. In the face of this, the 5 reis,
used, sells for three or four shillings, whilst
the 25 reis can he bought for as many pence.
These facts lead me to offer the following
suggestions : —

1. A very large number of 5 reis stamps
must have been printed, and destroyed; or,

2. A very large number of reprints must
have been taken from the 5 reis die in 1864.
Either of these things would account for the
decadence of the 5 reis die ; but I am in-
clined to the suggestion "No. 1, because the
reprinted 5 reis sells for half as much again
as either of the other three, which would not
be the case if the 5 reis had been the most
extensively reprinted of the whole set. The
reader must judge for himself as to which of
my suggestions is the more probable. As I
have said, these stamps had a currency of
about two years, when they were replaced
by the

Issue of 1855.

Col. imp. on white, imperf.

Paper. — White wove paper, unglazed, a
trifle stouter than that of the first issue.

Gum. — Yellowish white.

Design. — Embossed profile of Don Pedro
to right, in solid pearled circle or oval. On
the neck of the bust are the ._____.
initials of the engraver, Don j^^^^zf**,
Francisco de Borges Freire.
On the stamps of Donna Maria
these initials are embossed,
but on the stamps of this issue
they are in sunken letters.
The King is represented as
having straight hair. Of the 5 reis Dr.
Magnus mentions five types, " distinguished
from each other (says The Stamp-Collector's
Magazine for April, 1870) by various
differences in the details of the design, and,
among others, by the number of pearls
forming the circle ; these, when the con-
dition of the specimen is good enough to
permit of their being counted, are among
the best evidence of the variety. For our
readers' guidance, the following are the
numbers for the five varieties, respectively :
75, 81, 89, and two, each 76"

In the state in which the obliterated
Portuguese generally come to hand, it is ex-

cessively difficult to distinguish the various
types. To count the pearls on the 5 reis
of this issue, the best plan, in my opinion,
is to turn the stamps over, and examine
them from behind. With considerable diffi-
culty I have succeeded in making out the
following from the five types mentioned by
M. Moens.

Type 1. — Lettering very large and coarse ;
first R of CORREIO has a short tail ; I higher
than the other letters ; second R and E both
touch circle round pearls ; s of reis at some
distance from ornamental spandrels ; all the
loops of spandrels small ; 89 pearls round
the head.

Type 2. — Lettering large, but not coarse ;
foot of second R in correio almost touches
circle ; I lower than the other letters ;
s of reis almost touches spandrel ; loops of
spandrels, very small ; 76 pearls.

Type 3. — Lettering large, but very thin ;
all letters of correio at some distance from
circle ; E higher than the other letters ; s
of reis not near spandrels ; loops of span-
drels moderately large ; 76 pearls.

Type 4. — Lettering very small, and not
near circle ; E and I a little higher than the
other letters ; loops of spandrels very large ;
75 pearls.

Type 5. — Medium-sized lettering, not
touching circle ; I higher than the other
letters, and rather crooked ; loops of span-
drels very large ; 76 pearls.

The number of pearls does not correspond
in every case with the numbers given in the
extract quoted above from The Stamp-
Collectors Magazine ; but the fault is very
possibly on my side ; for though I have
counted the pearls on each stamp carefully
several times it is, nevertheless, very easy
to make a mistake.

List.

5 reis,
5 „

chocolate, v. medium to dark.

red-bistre, medium.

yellowish brown, v. medium to dark

25 reis,
25 „
25 „

chalky blue, medium.

dull blue, v. medium to dark.

royal blue, v. medium to very dark.

50 reis,

yellowish green.

100 reis,
100 „

lilac.

reddish lilac.

124

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Issue of 1856.
In 1856 the stamps described above were
suppressed, and a new set issued, similar to
the last, except that the
king's hair was represented
as curly, instead of straight as
before. From the fact that
this new issue was almost ex-
actly identical with the last —
the only difference being in
the portrait of the king — it
is very probable that the alteration was made
by Hi's Majesty's own desire, as I do not fancy
the government would have gone to the ex-
pense of a new issue, with such a very small
alteration, unless the king had expressed a
wish to that effect. This, however, is only
my own theory. I have found two types of
the 5 reis of this issue, each with 82 pearls
round the bust. The first has the pearls
very large, very close together, and oval ;
whilst in the second they are small, tolerably
far apart, and quite round. M. Moens
mentions two types of the 25 reis blue.* I
have also found two types of the 25 reis
rose, in which the figure 5 differs considerably.

List.

5 reis, chocolate, v. medium to very dark.

5 ,, pale bistre.

5 ,, red- bistre, v. pale to medium.

5 ,, yellowish brown, rather dark.

5 ,, very dark blackish brown.

(Two types, K. B. E.)
25 reis, chalky blue.
25 „ bright royal blue, v. medium to dark.

(Two types, J. B. Moens.)
25 reis, rose, v. pale to medium. \ Issued in
25 ,, bright rose-carmine, j- 1357

v. medium to dark. J

(Two types, R. B. E.)

(Whether these two stamps were ever printed,
or not, I cannot say. At all events they were
not issued. Probably the 50 reis and 100 reis
of the last issue were not exhausted.

RErraNTS of the 1856 Issue.
As far as I can learn, only one of the
stamps of Don Pedro has been reprinted, and
that is the 5 reis, 1856. The paper is a little
thicker, the gum whiter, the colour a warm
yellowish brown, not at all streaky. I fancy
the die has been touched up a bit, and the

*[The two types of the 25 reis blue arc readily distin-
guishable by observing the network of the ground. .--Ed ]

lines deepened. It is of my second type,
with the 82 small round pearls; and the
lettering is thin and very highly embossed
Frequently the pressure of the die has cut
the stamp clear from the sheet for three
parts of the way round. Some amateurs
deny that this stamp is a reprint, but I have
the authority of M. Moens — and, I believe,
Dr. Magnus — for saying that it is. I have
also never seen it obliterated, and it looks
far too new and fresh for a stamp some six-
teen or seventeen years old. I should be
glad of the opinions of any brother philatelists
concerning this stamp, especially as it is the
only type of the 5 reis of this issue which is
offered to collectors in any quantity — a fact
which is in itself suspicious.

Next month, before going into the later
issues, I shall endeavour to give a fuller
account of the various types of the Don
Pedro stamps. Up to the present date I
have not succeeded in obtaining all the dif-
ferent types.

(To be continued).

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF
THE RUSSIAN LOCAL STAMPS.

BY OVERY TAYLOR.

(Continued from page lOO.y
We have endeavoured in the foregoing para-
graphs to give an outline of the history of
the establishment of the Russian local posts
(as far as it is known), and to trace their
powers and functions. That the service is
yet in its earliest infancy is evident, but it is
also evident that it is capable of great ex-
pansion, and is likely to prove an important
auxiliary in the development of civilisation
and commerce in Russia.

The surprising extent to which the system
of local posts has been adopted in the few
years which have elapsed since it was first
thought of, shows a quick appreciation of its
benefits on the part of the rural adminis-
trations. Of the 185 districts of which Euro-
pean Russia is composed, over fifty — scattered
through twenty-three of the thirty-two de-
partments— have already issued stamps.
Some of these districts are situated in remote
regions, Kotelnich, for instance, but the ma-
jority are found in or near the centre of the

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

125

empire, and it is a significant fact that many
of them are in proximity to the great arterial
railways. Thus, on or near the line from St.
Petersburg to Moscow, we find the towns of
Tver and Valdai, Novgorod, Borovitchi, &c. ;
on the line beyond Moscow, stretching in
a south-easterly direction, are Kalonina,
Riasan, Sapojok, Tamboff, Bogorodsk, &c. ;
more to the south we meet with Livni, Ma-
loarchangelsk, Yoronej, and Boguchar ; and,
finally, in regions lying near the sea of Azoff,
we come upon Elisavetgrad, Peerjatin, Ekater-
inoslav, and Cherson. Probably it is in these
districts, in which railway communication
has given a great impulse to trade, that the
necessity of supplementing* the imperial postal
service by a local post, and thus linking the
outlying portions with the chief towns, has
made itself felt. In the really remote
provinces, where the current of trade is
sluggish, very little would seem to have been
done towards improving' the communications.
Turning now to the stamps themselves, we
find it very difficult — we may say impossible
■ — to trace the history of the various types
and series with anything approaching to accu-
racy. This arises from the fact that they have
been accidentally discovered one after ano-
ther, and that for the great majority no pre-
cise date of emission can be fixed. The first
stamp brought under the notice of collectors
was the original 5 kop. Bogorodsk, blue.
This was unearthed by the St. Petersburg
correspondent of this journal, and described
in The Stamp-Collector s Magazine for 1869,
page 75. The specimen which was then
commented on was obliterated, and one of
the very few used Russian locals which have
made their way over here. It was figured
in the number for July, 1869, in company
with the Borowitz stamp which M. Moens
was the first to meet with. Nothing wras
then known respecting the service for which
they were issued, but the correspondent
above referred to, wrote that he had seen
several other types used for other places.
A month later the Schluesselburg and Riasan
stamps cropped up. The Soumy emission
was shown at the Philatelic Society's meet-
ing in October, and the Cherepovetz was
described by M. Moens in December, 1869.
In the number of this magazine for March,

1870, Mr. W. E. Hayns, in an interesting
letter, discussed the variations in the in-
scriptions on the then known locals. No
further notice appears respecting them,
until November of that year, when the Belo-
zersk made its appearance. In March, 1871,
the Louga stamp was introduced to notice,
and was followed in May, by the Berdiansk
and Tver impressions. Finally, in The
Stamp Collector's Magazine for July, 1871,
appeared what purported to be a complete
and authentic list of Russian locals. Though
not, in reality, complete, it was in the highest
degree, authentic. It included not only the
stamps above mentioned, but a number of
others previously unknown — in all, fifty-one.
The different types were described from
specimens which adorned the album of a
painstaking official at St. Petersburg, who
had been at great trouble to obtain them.
They are now all of them known to collectors,
having come over one after the other during
the period which has elapsed since the publi-
cation of the list, which, be it said to the
honour of the compiler, has formed the start-
ing-point for all subsequent research.

It is unnecessary to trace any further the
introduction of the local stamps to the
philatelic world, and a critical analysis of
the various issues does not enter into the
scheme of a merely preparatory article like
the present ; suffice it to say that hardly a
month has passed, since the appearance of
the list, but what the chronicle of new issues
has contained the description of one or more
fresh arrivals. The number of specimens
has risen to something like 140,- and collectors
will have seriously to consider the propriety
of setting apart a special album for the
Russian local emissions, treating each district
as if it were a separate country. The pro-
priety of such a course is rendered evident
by the not unf requent changes in type which
take place ; thus, three designs in succession
have been issued for Cherson ; three for
Bogorodsk (whose stamps and envelopes
have risen to the number of twenty-three) ;
two for Belozersk ; two for Tamboff ; two
for Louga ; two for Rjeff ; two for Weissie-
gonsk, &c. Reverting to the question of
date of issue, if we accept as correct the
statements made in Le Timbre Paste and M.

126

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Moens' new catalogue — and we must suppose
they are made on good authority — one at least
of the Russian locals, the Schluesselburg, took
its rise so far back as in 1865, and is said to
have been withdrawn from circulation in
1868, so that it ran through its term of
currency long before the law sanctioning the
establishment of local posts was passed.
That under such circumstances specimens of
the Schluesselburg stamp should be so com-
mon as they are, is a fact which seems to
require some explanation. Other locals,
though not equally ancient, have been in ex-
istence for several years, Thus, exclusive of
those mentioned in these pages in 1869 and
1870, which must even then have been in
use for some considerable time, we find that
the Demiansk, according to M. Moens, was
issued in 1868, the Saratoff in 1869, the
Koseletz in 1867, and for the first Kotelnitz
the exact date of issue — the 22nd June, 1869
— is quoted by the Belgian philatelist.

With regard to the designs of the stamps,
they may fairly be divided into three classes.
1. Simple inscriptions, consisting of the name
of the issuing administrations and the value,
in a framework more or less ornamental. 2.
The heraldic emblems of the district, or of
the district and province combined, on the
same shield. 3. Postal emblems. The first,
which is certainly the least interesting class,
finds its representatives in the Tichvin, Tver,
Kirilnff, Boguchar, first Livni, and first
Belozersk emissions. The third is composed
of the Cherson stamps, with letter-carrier on
horseback, galloping, and the Melitopol, with
letter-carrier on horseback, ambling.

To the second class it is necessary to give
more particular attention; for, apart from
the purely philatelic interest which all
stamps, pretty or ugly, pi-esent, as stamps,
to the collector, the emissions on which are
figured the local heraldic bearings of the
district possess an interest of their own, from
the fact that they illustrate the specialities
of the region to which they belong. Unfor-
tunately, even with respect to the meaning
of the designs, our information is still very
incomplete. It is not possible to give a
comprehensive explanatory list, but it will
not be out of place to insert here a resume
of the explanations which have been given

respecting the devices on several of the local
stamps.

Belozersk, 3 kopecs, fish and cross suit ire.
The fish indicates the situation of the town
near the Beloe Ozero (White Lake), tish
being the principal trade article there

Jierdiiruslr, a seaport on the Azoff, hence
the anchor.

liorjorudsk. — The upper part of the oval
contains the Moscow arms — St. George and
the dragon- — the lower, a weaving-loom or
spinning-wheel, an emblem of the cotton
works and silk manufactories of the town.
Some discussion arose recently as to whether
the horseman is really intended for St .
George or for a Russian emperor ; but it
was finally admitted to be intended for the
saint.

Boroviclii is situated on the river Msta,
which forms a connecting link in the canal
system which unites the Baltic with the
Caspian sea. The design in the right half
of the stamp — a kind of staircase — is a lock
or sluice, an illustration of the cataracts of
the Msta, near Boroviclii.

Kolomna. — The name points to the sig-
nificance of the column or pillar which is,
no doubt, the arms of the district.

Sclduesselburrj. — The name, literally trans-
lated, signifies Kei/bomufjli, the adoption of
a key as its armorial device thus receives its
explanation.

Tamboff. — Bee-hive: bee-keeping being
very much spread, the bee-hive is the armorial
design, not only of the town but also of the
province of Tamboff. This is why it ap-
pears also on the stamps of Shatzk. The
hive also indicates, in a general way. the
fertility <>f the land.

Soumij. — The name Soumy is the plural
number of the word Souma, meaning bag;
this is the reason for the strange coat of arms
of that town, which might be taken to be
simply a representation of a mail-bag.

Valdai. — The peak has reference to the
Valdai mountains, which form a chain of
about 200 miles in length and 50 in breach h.
They are situated in the south-eastern part
of the government of Novgorod, and among
them the Volija, Duna, Dnieper, and other
rivers have their source. Their greatest
elevation is only 800 feet, and they have

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

127

attracted attention simply because they are
almost the only hills in European Russia.

This is but a sample of the instructive
lessons which may be derived from the
quaint and uncouth Russian locals, which by
the very law which sanctioned them are
condemned — fortunately for collectors — to
bear devices which shall not be capable of
confusion with the stamps of the imperial
office. The first Melitopol stamp was sup-
pressed because its device was considered to
transgress the limits ; the Dmitrieff, on the
other hand, is maintained in use although
its design consists of the imperial arms — an
exception for which there must be some good
reason.

The St. Petersburg stamps are included
by M. Moens among the Russian locals, but,
as it appears to the writer, on insufficient
grounds. It is certain that their employ-
ment has nothing in common with that of the
locals proper, and they were issued before
the present system of rural government came
into being ; they bear, moreover, the im-
perial arms, and can only be considered as
stamps issued for a special purpose by the
imperial post.

Mr. Pleske, of St. Petersburg, in a letter
published in The Stamp-Collector' s Magazine
last year, insists on the inclusion of the
Livonian stamps among the Russian locals,
because they really perform the same service.
But the Livonian stamps were issued in 1 863-4,
and, according to statements which appeared
at the time, the German inhabitants of the
Wendenscken Kreis had possessed a local
postal service, founded by Moravian immi-
grants, for many years ; and when Russia
took possession of Livonia, the inhabitants
were confirmed in the exercise of their pe-
culiar privileges, — among others the local
postal institution, which has ever since
been respected. Hence, the writer has
deemed it unadvisable to include the Livo-
nian stamps, which have an independent
history of their own, with the Russian locals.

Of the varieties springing from differences
in paper, perforation, colour, &c, this is
hardly the place to speak. That many such
varieties may be distinguished is probable.
As to the design, the form of impression
generally adopted — the lithographic — fa-

vours the multiplication of varieties arising
from trifling differences in detail. M. Moens
has already, with his usual keenness of ob-
servation, detected several of these differ-
ences, but the writer is inclined to doubt
whether they will ever attract much interest.
In roughly-printed or lithographed stamps
variations become the rule rather than the
exception, and specimens which differ from
the normal type only by the presence of an
additional comma, or the malformation of a
letter, have but little philatelic importance.

In like manner, variations in the shade of
colour can hardly be treated with much
respect, though of course distinct colours of
the same value must be collected. The ex-
istence of certain values in two different
colours is not due to any printer's freak, or
to an accidental running short of the colour
first issued. In such cases each colour has
its particular use ; one serves for the stamps
on letters from the town to the district, and
the other for letters from the district to the
town.

Very few of the Russian locals are perfo-
rated ; the Cherson and the lately-issued
Podolsk are, we believe, the only issues which
" show their teeth." It is probable, however,
seeing that the Podolsk, Bronnitzi, Kolom-
na, and Bog'orodsk stamps are all printed at
Moscow by the same person, that the next
supplies for the three latter districts will
also be perforated. Meanwhile it may* be
mentioned that the first Livni was issued
with scalloped edges, which gave it quite the
appearance of a bobbin label. The unusual
shape of many of these locals is' indeed one
of the first things to strike an observer.
We have small upright lozenges, e.g., Pskoff
and the new Borovitchi ; large transverse
lozenges, as witness the Egorieffsk ; large
rectangles, such as the Ekaterinoslav and
Kiriloff ; and small rectangles in the Demi-
ansk and Tamboff. In short, taken altoge-
ther, these stamps combine in their designs,
as in their history, the greatest possible in-
terest to philatelists. They offer a vast field
for study, and the writer trusts that among
his readers not a few will be found to pursue
the investigation indicated, rather than com-
menced in the present rudimentary introduc-
tion.

128

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

An International Congress, at which all the Euro-
pean Powers and ihe United States will be represented, is
to meet at Berne, on the 1st of September, for the purpose
of concluding a common postal treat)'.

The Hour, among its other conservative tendencies,
seems to avoid at least one form of modern innovation.
The editor's office is situated in Fleet Street, and the
printing-office is in St. John Street. Some papers would
connect the two by a telegraphic wire or pneumatic tube,
but our young contemporary reverts to the old posting
system. Each evening a messenger on horseback, booted
and spurred, stands in a neighbouring lane, and at his
side are his saddle-bags. Every now and then some one
emerges from the office with a parcel of "copy; " it is
hurriedly given to the messenger, crammed into the bag,
and off he goes at the top of his speed, like Tain o' Shauter.

Ocean Tost Cards. — The Postmaster-General at
"Washington, according to The New York Herald, has at
present un.'er consideration a scheme for a postal card
convention between England and the United States, by
which the cards would be delivered in either country
for three cents. The only obstacle in the way now is the
demand of the steamship companies, who receive two
cents, and urge that they are underpaid. The postage
would be divided as follows : one cent to Great Britain,
one cent to the United States, and one cent to the mail
packet company. The new Philadelphia steamship line
has signified its readiness to carry the mails at the lowest
rate. The postmaster-general has authority to make
the convention without reference to Congress, so that the
old idea of ocean penny postage may be approximately
realised in a few mouths, and this will be a long step
towards the lowering of the rates for letters. — I'atl Mall
Gazette.

CORRESPONDENCE.
"Mu. OVERY TAYLOR'S CONTINUATION."
To the Editor of "Thk Stamp-Collector's Magazine."
Dear Sir,— With regard to the letter which appeared
in your last, on the above subject, permit me to say that
the Editor of The Vhilatelist may well be excused for the
expression, seeing that, in noticing my " Paper for Begin-
ners," he was really referring to a rudimentary article.
Dear Sir,

Yours truly,

OVERY TAYLOR.

From this you will see that all that is required to com-
plete the sets of the values in circulation, is the 15 c. on
buff and on blue, as it is not at all likely that the 10 c ,
\6 c, and '20 c. will be issued of two siz ».
Dear Sir,

Yours truly,
Valparaiso. ' L. W. MKYER.

CURRENT CHILIAN ENVELOPES.
To the Editor of "The Stamp- Collector's Magazine."
Dear Sir, — Since last I wrote you, another variety in
the envelope line has appeared— the 10 c, pale blue on
white. Perhaps the following list of dates on which the
various envelopes appeared may be of use to you.
5 c. white, note size (5A x 2^"~ in.) )
5 c. blue, do. ' do. [ Nov. 22, 1872.

5 c. buff, do. do. }

10 c. blue, "v

10 c. buff, V large size (6i x 3 j\), middle of Jan., 1873.
15 c. white, )

5 c. white, -v
5 c. blue, -
5 c. buff, j

10 c. white,

do.

(51 x 3 -A), end of Jan., 1873.

("i-^.y, end of April, 1873.

THE LA GUAI11A STAMPS.
To the Editor of" The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."
Dear Sik, — I fancy your correspondent, "G. II. II.,"

must have made a mistake in his letter of last month.
I said distinctly that the forgeries of the miles series were
all of the first type (circ. pert'. 13, small figures in corners);
and the stamps he describes are of the second type, and
are, therefore, in no danger of being mistaken for
forgeries. In the medio real rose (first type), the upp.-r
limbs of c, h, and e, in Cabello, are considerably larger,
thicker, and more prominent than the lower ones, in all
the copies which I have ever seen ; and in the dos rea/cs,
though not quite so marked, they are sufficiently apparent.
In the second type, with which the forgeries have nothing
to do, these peculiarities do not appear. I fancy, there-
fore, his stamps must be of the second type. He speaks
of the 6 being in the centre of a " Maltese cross." Now,
the 6 is in the centre of a cross (not a Maltese cross, but a
cross pattee, which differs considerably from a Maltese
cross), hut the said cross is so very rude that it is much
better described as a square, with a lound or oral dot in
each corner. In all the copies of the first types which I
possess, or have seen, the 6 touches the dot in the left-
hand bottom corner; or, if your correspondent will have it
so, it touches that part of the cross pattee where the
bottom arm joins the left-hand one. For the guidance of
non-heraldic readers, I may mention that the cross pattee
is formed of lour triangles placed point to point ; whereas
the Maltese cross resembles four arrow-heads, similarly
placed, or four fishes' tails, joined at the parts where they
have been separated from the body.

With regard to the article by "Etonia," I would beg to
call attention to the fact that most of the inverted water-
marks mentioned have been already described either by
mvselfor"G. W. B." in The Stamp-Collector's Magazine,
vol. ix., pp. 103, 119. and 134.

Yours faithfully,

ROBERT B. EAREE.
The Curatar/r, Waller Behhamp,
Sudbury.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

G.' C, London. — We should think Moens' new catalogue
would be about the best.

Qu.v.sToii, Norwich. — Your stamp is simply a cut spe-
cimen of the impressed 1 groschen German envelope.

B. S. ; A. 11. L. ; G. II. H. ; F. 11. S ; J. S. Daniels.—
To these correspondents our best thanks are due, for the
information contained in their letters.

A. (r. — Your letter of 3rd inst., though it contains no
absolutely new information, is very creditable, as showing
that habit of careful observation, without which no real
advance can be made in the study of stamps.

L. W. MEYER, Valparaiso. — From our June number
you will have perceived that we possess positive official
information as to the names of the personages represented
on the new Argentine stamps. Accept our best thanks
for the intelligence your letter contains, of which we have
made use in the present number.

TF1E STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

129

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

La Gazette des Timbres. — The Jmie number,
which completes the first volume, reached
us towards the end of July. Its contents are
of an unusually varied and interesting char-
acter— a fact which increases our regret, on
reading the announcement on the last page,
that the Gazette is* to be temporarily discon-
tinued, with a view to subsequent reissue in
another and cheaper form. Taken as a
whole, the twelve numbers which have
appeared have hardly come up to our expec-
tations, there being in many parts a repellent
dryness in the style ; but the last of the
twelve is much superior in its attractiveness
to the rest. It opens with an account of the
Alaska parchment money, mistaken by a
traveller for postage stamps, and to which
we elsewhere allude. The next article,
entitled " The American Private (or Pro-
prietary) Stamps," is a reply to the argu-
ments which have been advanced in the
pages of this and other journals, against the
collection of the Yankee physic stamps. It
is a well-written defence, but, borrowing an
expression it contains, it seems to us " its
reasoning is more specious than true." The
learned doctor urges that the stamps which
are fabricated in the government ateliers
for the account of private persons — who, in
addition to the printing expenses, pay a
"royalty" of one cent per 25 cents to the
government— are really fiscal labels. We
cannot see that they are such, except in the
very narrowest sense of the word. They
are, above and before all other things, mere
pictorial advertisements, designed for the
purpose, literally and figuratively, of giving a
certain cachet to the wares to which they are
affixed. The proof lies in the fact that the
government has issued a series of Internal
Revenue stamps of its own, for the purpose
of denoting the payment of the duty on patent
medicines ; and if the proprietors of such
medicines prefer to have special stamps of
their own engraved, it is simply with a view
to the embellishment of their bottles and
boxes. In a matter of this kind collectors
of fiscal stamps will look to the leading
intention of the issuing person or company,
and will hardly be misled by shallow argu-

ments based on the fact that the impression
of the stamps involves a payment to the
state. As Dr. Magnus himself says, with
reference to the observation of one of our
contributors, that, on the principles enun-
ciated by the Gazette, railway tickets ought
also to be collected, as being, in fact, a kind
of stamp, " good sense, without difficulty,
makes a distinction between them." Very
true, and good sense must not be altogether
disregarded in the pursuit of logical sequence
to an end, which — -seeing that it would
involve the purchase, in this instance, of no
end of pills and mixtures — may well be
termed a bitter one. The learned doctor, in
the course of his discussion of this very
question of the difference between railway
tickets and stamps, says, "The stamp which
indicates the payment of a tax is a kind of
paper money, which circulates, and which is
purchased, like the precious metals. Adhe-
rence, and the cancellation which follows,
whatever may be its nature, destroys this
attribute, withdraws the stamp from circu-
lation, and transforms it into a receipt or
discharge." But, judged by this rule, how
does it fare with his favourite proprietary
stamps ? Do they ever circulate ? Would
they be accepted as money, if even they
were allowed to circulate ? Decidedly not ;
their owrner can do nothing with them but
stick them on his packages ; and until ho
does so stick them, would be very sorrv to
part with any of them ; for were he to do so,
they might find their wTay into the hands of
some rival quack. Once on the pill-boxes,
they become technically transformed into so
many receipts, and in reality begin to perform
the service for which they were created.
Hence they are never stamps, in the proper
acceptation of the word, and the faith in the
future professed by our contemporary must
be great, if it includes the belief that his
opinions will ever make much progress on
this side of the channel. That ho feels their
weakness is evident from the fact that he
finds himself obliged to reinforce them by
pleading the uselessness of collecting rainbow
proofs of postage stamps — a practice which
we are far from defending, and also by
referring, in proof of the omnivorous tastes
ul' English collectors, to our publishers1

130

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

advertisements of packets of flowers, animals,
monograms, &c, which it has not entered
into anyone's mind to assert should form
part of a philatelic collection. The utility
of collections of flowers, pictures, or other
objects, which it may please our publishers
to advertise, has really nothing whatever to
do with the question ; and Dr. Magnus
must have a peculiar notion of editorial
responsibility, if he thinks that it is engaged
in respect of the advertisem3nts which fill
the fly-sheet. Dr. Magnus asks us to admit
that he is consequent with his premises, and
declares that he is satisfied with being- logical.
We cannot make the admission he requires.
Though it concerns us but very slightly, we
cannot acknowledge that the physic labels
are, in the fair acceptation of the word,
fiscals. In collecting them, Dr. Magnus is
true at most to the letter, but certainly not
to the sp'rit of his own arguments ; and phi-
lately itself — we say it with all respect to our
learned confrere — suffers in the esteem of
many by the spectacle of the excess to
which, in consequence of the dreadful
log'cal exigencies by which it is surrounded,
the stu ly of " stamps " conducts.

Thus much, then, for the medicine tickets,
which form the subject of Dr. Magnus's
spirited, but, to our mind, inconclusive article.
To it succeeds a further instalment of his
Vel'de or "Minor Gazette," in which the in-
structions for mounting the Austrian emis-
sions are completed. Then follows the
usual Ghronique, to which we were indebted
for snndiy items of information published
in our last ; and the number winds up with
a reference to a rare Hawaiian 2 c. stamp,
and a short but interesting article on the
Persian stamps, which, considering the
importance of its contents, we have taken
the liberty to reprint. In taking leave of
our confrere, it is with the hope that, ere
long we may have the pleasure of meeting
him again under another garb, and bearing a
title which will not oblige him to make
excursions into the realm of fiscal and
physic stamps.

The Stamp. — Having sped the parting, we
are now free to welcome the coming guest,
if the term can be applied to a journal which
has already made good its footing among us

by the issue of three fortnightly numbers.
It is a compact and well-written eight-page
publication, rather larger than The Stapip-
Collector's Magazine, containing a great 'deal
of information. In proof of the publish era'
desire to keep their readers well informed,
we may mention that the new English 3d.
having made its appearance too late for
notice in the body of the second number, a
fly-sheet was added, containing a full de-
scription of it. If we must find something
to complain of, we may as well run a tilt
against the rather ostentatious display of
linguistic knowledge, as shown in the fre-
quent intercalation of French expressions,
and the occasional dash of German and
Italian phrases. In a single column we find
" die se ne vlvo)io nel dulce far niente,"
"par excellence" "I honneur de VAmerique
est saurec," and " sonst iind jetzt.'" We
must also object to the lack of care in
correcting the proofs, which has led to a
far too frequent recurrence of typographical
stumbling-blocks. This, however, is a fault
which ~we trust that time and practice will
rectify. Meanwhile, we must do justice to
the good intentions which evidently animate
the publishers, and we cannot doubt but
that their journal will meet with considerable
support.

The contents of the paper are divided into
four parts, viz., "Editorial," " Xew Issues,"
" Summary of News," and " Reviews," The
" New Issues " contains the latest intelligence,
together with illustrations of the ' greatest
novelties. The " Summary of News " is
made up of a number of more or less
interesting items, and the article entitled
"Reviews" is somewhat similar to the
present one. We learn from the " Summary,"
that the National Bank Note Company has
sent a frame of stamps to the Vienna
Exhibition, and that Germany and Holland
have followed suit. We glean from the
"Reviews" that Messrs. Grant, lats of
Birmingham, and now of Dawlish, have
published a Price Catalogue, which has had
the advantage of being edited by Mr. Pem-
berton ; but where is Mr. Pemberton's own
analytical catalogue all this time ? The
measurements of all the stamps in the journal
under review are iriven in millimetres, and

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

13L

we observe that the publishers purpose
issuing a scale of French and English
measures, up to 8 inches, lithographed on
strong paper — a useful auxiliary which we
ourselves had the intention of issuing, and
which our contemporary's readers cannot
dispense with.

The American Journal of Philately. — We
have before us the numbers for the 1st and
15th July, respectively. The latter contains
six pages, or rather — deducting the head-
piece— five-and-a-half pages of letter-press.
Of these, one-and-a-quarter are filled with
original matter ; the remainder is occupied
by a reprint of "Warden's" article on the
Reunion stamps, first published in these
columns, to which not a word of acknow-
ledgment of the source is appended. Such
conduct disgraces a journal ; for the reprint is
nothing less than a dishonest appropriation
of an essay with the composition of which the
A. J. P. had nothing to do. We would fain
hope the omission of all reference to this ma-
gazine was accidental, but our contemporary
has but too frequently shown a disposition to
make the least possible acknowledgment for
taking what "isn't his'n." Turning from
this disagreeable subject, we observe that the
A. J. P. has lately received two specimens of
the one cent Nicaragua ; and we note the
rumour that an entire series of Brazilian
stamps, like the new 300 reis, is in course of
preparation. The impression for July 1st is
almost exclusively occupied with a list of the
new official stamps for the United States, of
which we make use in another place.

La Posta Moncliale. — This is the title of a
journal of which the first number was issued
in July last, at Florence, by P. R. de Torres.
As far as we can judge, it appears to be a
well- written publication ; and its only defect,
in our eyes, is that it treats of fiscal stamps,
and accords to them a too prominent place.
The contents of the opening number are
made up of an " Introduction," a " Pro-
gramme," a " Chronicle of the Month," and
a " Review of Philatelic Journals." Under
the heading " Jerusalem " the editor treats of
the stamp of which an illustration was given
in our July number, and supports our view
that it is not an evidence of prepayment, but
simply a kind of control mark struck on all

letters passing through the Jerusalem branch
of the French post-office. The new Spanish,
the Servian 2 para, and other novelties are
duly described, together with a number of
Italian revenue and municipal stamps, of
which the less said the better. A sheet of
lithographed designs of the principal labels
mentioned accompanies the letter-press. We
have only to add, in conclusion, that we hail
the appearance of an Italian journal, and
cordially wish it long life and prosperity.

The Philatelist. — The last two numbers
afford comparatively little ground for com-
ment. The bill of fare for each is, however,
quite up to the usual standard. The second
part of Dr. Magnus's essay on " The various
Modes of printing Postage Stamps," is the
piece de resistance of the former, and a re-
printed article on "post cards " in the latter
is well worthy of attention. The " Spud
Papers " appear in both numbers — the
stamps treated of being those of the
Danubian Steam Navigation Co., Shanghai,
and the Dutch Indies ; the descriptions are
from the Rev. R. B. Earee's practised pen.
In the Danubian company imitations the
inscriptions touch the outside of the oval ;
the inner fluke of the left-hand anchor is
invisible, and the cables are not plain ; the
17 soldi has two dots after and one in front
of the numeral ; the two 10 soldi have the
figure 1 printed lower than the 0. With
regard to the Shanghai, the genuine, being
printed from blocks, show a slightly sunken
impression, so that the lettering appears
more or less raised on the back of the
stamps. This is not so in the forgeries,
which are lithographed and perfectly smooth.
In the genuine, the longest spike of the
dragon's tail touches the outer line of the
design (not border) in every case, whilst in
the forgeries it does not touch the outer line
of the design in any part. The counterfeit
Dutch Indies are good imitations, but may
be detected from the fact that the circle
roundhead of king contains only 86 pearls,
whilst the genuine show 87; furthermore,
the lettering is not at all clear, and is thinner
than in (lie »vnnine. and the barbed flukes of
the anchors, which on the latter are very
clearly drawn, arc mere shapeless y\^\> in the
forsreries.

133

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Le Timure-Posfe. — Like the preceding pub-
lication, this old favourite offers but little to
the gleaner outside of the usual "Chronique,"
which, as usual, abounds in novelties. In
the August number, however, we must not
omit to mention the appearance of a long
and carefully written paper, by Dr. Magnus,
on the 1873 reprints of the first Prussian
envelopes and adhesives. We must re-
linquish the intention we had for a moment
formed of giving a resume of its conclusions
as far as regards the envelopes, for it would
be impossible satisfactorily to sum up within
our limits the distinctive points of the
originals and the reprints. With regard to
the adhesives the case is not the same. The
stamps received by Dr. Magnus are the 4 pf.,
^ sgr., 1 sgr., 2 sgr., and 3 sgr. ; and it appears
that it is exceedingly difficult to distinguish
them from the originals, seeing that they are
on paper watermarked with the laurel crown,
that the plates are not worn, and therefore
the impressions are equal to the original
ones, and that although the paper seems
somewhat thicker, no fair comparison can be
made between these crisp new specimens and
the oft-manipulated copies of the known
originals. The colour of the paper offers, in
respect of the three higher values, about the
only test, and even that is an uncertain one.
The old 1 sgr. have a more or less marked
shade of rose-orange ; the new are rose-
mauve : the old 2 sgr. are dark blue ; the
new sky or greenish blue : the old 3 sgr. are
dark orange-yellow ; the new are much
paler, with a tendency towards a greenish
shade. As to the twro lower values, printed
in colour, the reprinted orange | sgr. is of a
more yellowish shade, whilst the 4 pf. green
has less of yellow in it. However, that the
stamps are reprints is certain, for only a little
time back the Prussian post-office did not
possess a single old stamp, and now the
values of the first series are very easily obtain-
able.

MR. MONSELLS ANNUAL REPORT.

The Postmaster-general's nineteenth report
has just made its appearance ; and as the
doings of what may be fairly termed the
parent post-office can never he without in-

terest to philatelists, a short discussion of
the contents of tin's reporl can hardly In-
considered as a misappropriation <>l our
space.

The march of thi' English administration
is a steady one, untroubled by violenl
episodes. Year after year the number of
offices goes on increasing, additional ac-
commodation is given to important towns.
and ameliorations in the service arc intro-
duced. The report before us opens with the
usual enumeration of new buildings con-
structed during the year, and of towns to
which extra mails are now despatched. The
postmaster-general next refers to an error in
the returns for 1871, by which the number
of letters in that year was made to ba
915,000,000, instead of 870,000,000. The
figures for 1872 are not given, but a system
of check counting has been adopted, which
Mr. Monsell hopes will enable him to give-
the number of letters with confidence in his
next report.

A little further on we find the following
reference to the post card with embossed
stamp.

In compliance with the urgent solicitations of the com-
mittee of wholesale and retail stationers of the United
Kingdom, permission was given, under certain restric-
tions, for private cards impressed with a halfpenny stamp
at the office of inland revenue, and serving .is letters, to
pass through the post like post cards issued by govern-
ment. But of t/iis concession little use has been made.

The report contains the usual reference to
the number of wrongly addressed letters
which find their way to the returned-let ter
office. These amounted to over three millions
and a half. Eleven-twelfths of the total
number were either reissued with eoi*rected
addresses, or returned to senders a very
satisfactory result. Upwai'ds of 1 5 . 1 M >0 letters
were posted last year without any address,
and nearly 600,000 newspapers, addressed to
foreign parts, were stopped in the post-office
and destroyed because they were insuffi-
ciently stamped, many people believing the
halfpenny newspaper stamp to be postally
omnipotent.

Under the heading " Foreign and Colonial
Posts" we find the following interesting ob-
servations : —

It has long been the wish of the British post-office to
see a Low and, as nearly as practicable, uniform rate

the Stamp-collector's magazine.

133

established throughout the whole of . Europe ; and I shall
much rejoice when this object is attained. The rate as
between the United Kingdom and several European coun-
tries has already been reduced to threepence, but, the
European rale which the British office would prefer is

TWOPENCE.

We trust that in time the idea of a uniform
rate, which originated, we believe, with
Prince Bismarck, will take effect ; and it is
something to see the influence of the British
office thrown into the scale in its favour.
Certainly the rate proposed by Mr. Monsell
could hardly be lower.

We are glad to find that our postal re-
venue has more than recovered from the
effects of the introduction of post cards, and
the reductions in the tariff. The net revenue
last year was £1,524,000 ; viz., £1,505,000
from postage, and £19,000 from money-
orders, being an increase on the net revenue
from postage in 1871 of £260,500 ! Thus the
elasticity of the service and its recuperative
power are fully proved. The extension of
the benefits of postal intercourse which take
place every year is strikingly shown in the
fact that the expenditure in 1872 nearly
equalled the gross revenue in 1863.

The postmaster-general winds up his re-
port with a bit of chit-chat, which he calls
" Miscellaneous," and of which the following-
are the leading items : —

Intimation having been received on the afternoon of
the 3rd December last, from the gas company supplying
the chief office, that a supply could not be guaranteed
for more than a few hours, in consequence of the stokers
having struck work, steps were immediately taken for
lighting the sorting offices in this building, as also in
the branch offices in the Eastern Central District, with
candles (entailing an order for a ton weight) ; arrange-
ments being likewise made to provide lanthorns and
torches for the mail-eart drivers, and oil lamps for light-
ing the post-office yard.

Such provision had to be continued during the next
three days; and in the evening the sorting offices pre-
sented the novel appearance of being lighted up witli 2,000
candles. The total expense during the four days of the
strike was upwards of £58, but on the other hand there
was a saving in the consumption of about 160,000 feet of
gas, leaving a balance of loss of about £27.

As might be expected, the post-office receives many
letters of inquiry on matters witli which it can have no
possible concern ; and a curious collection might be made
of the letters thus arriving in the course of any year.
One of the strangest that have lately reached the depart-
ment was from a French gentleman, who having, as he
said, no relations or friends in London, wrote to ascertain
whether the English law permitted a foreigner to marry a
young lady, who was of age, against her father's will !

As an illustration of the variety of interests which the
post-office is called upon to consider, it may bo mention-
ed, that when the question of affording a daily post to a

small place in Ireland, which up to that time had had
only a tri- weekly post, was under consideration, a gentle-
man called upon the postmaster to urge that things
might be left as they were ; stating, as the reason of his
application, that he had heard that in order to give the
additional accommodation it would be necessary to alter
the hours of running the mail-car; an alteration which
would not, he said, suit himself and some other gentle-
men who were in the habit of using the mail-car when
going to fish on a lake near the mail-car route !

Previously to last July, it had been the rule of the ser-
vice for local time to be observed for certain purposes at
country post-offices; but, so far as England, Wales, and
Scotland are concerned, this rule was then abolished ; so
that Greenwich time alone is now kept at all the post-
offices in Great BritaiD.

After the report comes the usual dry
brigade of tables, which we must say are by
no means inviting. We were struck, how-
ever, by a fact evidenced by the last appendix
in the series, namely, that the net revenue of
thepost-office in 1838amounted to £1,659,510,
subject to certain deductions, which could
not than have been very important, for the
cost of the packet service, and of stationery.
We certainly had no idea that the returns at
that date were as important as they are now.

THE STAMPS OF PORTUGAL.

BY THE REV. R. B. EAREE.

(Continued from page Y2±J
When Don Luis ascended the throne, the
event was naturally marked by a new issue
of stamps. We come therefore to the

Issue of 1862.
Col. imp. on white, imperf.
Paper, — as before.
Gum. — Yellowish white.

Design. — Embossed profile of Don Luis to
left, in pearled circle, or oval. Engraver's
name (P. B. P.) in sunken letters, as before,
except on the 10 and 50 reis, where it is
embossed.

List.

■r> reis, reddish chocolate, v. pale to dark. -. .^ ^ ,
;) „ chocolate, v. pale to vcrv dark. [• u. '"■'". *'

5 ,, very dark rich chocolate-brown. ) m L'llxh'-

134

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

) 88 pearls,
f in octagon.

\ 83 pearls,
I in oval.

) 74 pearls,
( in oval.

82 pearls,
in oval.

10 reis, orange-yellow, v. pale to medium.

10 ,, golden orange, v. medium to dark.

25 ,, very pale rose, almost pink.

25 ,, rose, v. pale to dark.

25 ,, rose-carmine, v. pale to very dark.

53 ,, yellow-green, v. pale to medium.

50 ,, green, medium.

53 ,, bluish Prussian green, dark.
100 ,, lilac, v. very pale to medium.
100 ,, reddish lilac, v. medium to dark.
100 ,, lilac, with shade of violet, v.

medium to dark. ^

Of the 5 reis of this issue there are two
varieties — one having the figure 5 very near
the border, and at some distance from reis ;
and the other having the 5 near to reis,
and f ui'ther from border. Whether these are
two separate types or not, I do not know.
Both varieties have the 90 pearls.

Issue op 1866.
Col. on white, imperf.
After a circulation of about four years,
these stamps were suppressed in favour of a
new set bearing the name
of the country. The new
stamps were engraved by
Mr. C. Weiner, who has
favoured His Majesty with
a portrait very different
from that designed by
Freire. The chief peculi-
arity consists in the hair
being brushed to a great height above the
forehead, which has the effect of dwarfing
the features in a most absurd manner.

Paper, — White wove, rather thicker than
before.

Gum. — White.

Design. — Embossed profile of Don Luis to
left, in pearled oval ; legend, PORTUGAL
CORREio. Beneath the portrait of the king
are the initials of the engraver (c. W.) in
large embossed letters. All the values are
from one matrix, having 65 pearls in oval ;
value in label with curved and rounded ends.
List.

5 reis, greyish black.
5 ,, deep black.

yellow.

orange, v. medium to dark.

bistre, v. pale to very dark.

rose, v. pale to dark.

dull yellowish green, v. medium to dark.

bluish green, v. medium to dark.

■mgMljfS'F

*3&jJ5£:

Ww$-

.ijSSas'

♦BP

iwK M

TfflBSnl^f

Pmr ^

«lrfS

513

wHlm:

^J§L$

&*"W¥fi

80 reis,
80 „

100 „

120 „
120 „

reddish orange, v. medium to dark.
orange-vermilion, v. pale to very dark.

dark lilac.

dull blue, v. pale to daik.

bright blue, v. medium to very dark.

Issue of 1867.
The next year the improvement of perfor-
ation was introduced, and the shades of
colour a little varied; a new value was also
issued.

Col. on white, peri'. L3.

List.

greyish black,
deep black.

yellow.

orange-yellow,
vermilion -orange.

bistre, v. pale to medium,
yellow-bistre, pale to dark.
bistre, with shade of olive, dark.

dull rose, v. very pale to dark,
bright rose, v. medium to dark,
bright rose-carmine, v. medium to very dark.

very pale bluish green.

dull green.

yellow-green, v. pale to very dark.

vermilion-orange, v. very pale to medium.
orange-vermilion, v. medium to dark.

pale lavender.

lilac, v. pale to dark.

dull mauve, v. pale to medium.

bright greenish blue, v. medium to dark,
dull chalky blue, v. very pale to dark.
ultramarine, v. medium to dark,
royal blue, medium to very dark.

reddish lilac, v. medium to dark,
dull mauve, v. pale to medium,
bright mauve, v. pale to very dark.

Issue op 1871.
Col. on white, pert. 13.
" The cry is, Still they come ! *' In 1871,
tho authorities, for reasons best known I
themselves, issued ai
set, of a differenl t \ \
the new stamps, the labels
containing valu<
straight square ends : I
are 61 pearls in the oval ;
and the engraver's name
has disappeared. But the
chief difference is, as before,
in the portrait of the king. The engraver
has given him a Victor Emanuel moustache,
and a small imperial (in the old type, the
moustache curls downwards, and is scarcely
visible, and there is no imperial) ; whilst

5 reis,

5 „

10 „
10 „
10 „

23 „
20 „
20 „

25 „
25 „

25 „

50 „
50 „
50 „

80 ,,
80 „
100 ,,

100 „

120 „
120 „
120 „
120 „

240 „

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

135

the hair is brushed plainly back from the
forehead, showing a nice intellectual-looking
face, to which our illustration hardly does
justice.

List.

5 reis, greyish black.
5 „ deep black.

10 ,, chalky yellow, v. pale to dark.
10 ,, orange-yellow, v. pale to dark.

23 ,, yellowish bistre, v. pale to dark.

23 ,, bistre, with shade of olive, v. medium to dark.

2-5 „ dull rose, v. pale to medium.

25 „ bright rose carmine, v. medium to very dark.

51 ,, bright yellowish green, v. medium to dark.
59 ,, dull green, v. pale to dark.

80 ,, very bright orange-red.

80 ,, dull orange-red, v. pale to very dark.

100 „ pale dull lilac.
100 „ reddish lilac.

120 ,, dull blue, v. pale to dark.

123 ,, bright blue, v. medium to very dark.

I have not jet seen the 240 reis of this
type. A set of these stamps exists uuperfo-
rated, but they were issued for a collector, I
believe, so I shall not catalogue them.

Before I conclude, I wish to give a hint to
my readers concerning the stamps of these
last two types. The perforation is at a con-
siderable distance from the outer edge of the
design, so that a dishonest dealer might easily
cut off the perforations, and sell the stamps
as imperforated ones. Therefore, let those
who are on the look out for any of the
unperforated ones also look out that the
stamps sold to them have a good broad
margin. Verb. sap.

STAMP COLLECTING IN CHILI.

BY FULANO.

Stamp collecting has been known here for
more than twelve years, and, as is generally
the case, it had its birth in a school. It was
in 18G0, if I mistake not, that I first heard
that the boys at a large English school
established here (Valparaiso) had discovered
something new that was collectable — in
addition to coins, pens, and wine and beer-
bottle labels — viz., postage stamps. From
that date up to the present, collecting has
been on the increase, so that to-day there is
not a single school of which, a respectable
portion does not collect stamps.

I am sorry, however, to add that, with a

very few exceptions, collectors are all boys.
I know of some who, on leaving school, have
shelved their collections and never again
looked at them, collecting being considered
here as only fit for juveniles. It is a sight,
of a morning, to see boys on their way to the
public schools, in groups, comparing and
discussing their stamps, which are pasted in
small note or copy-books, sheets of paper
sewn together, or else carried loose in their
pockets.

It is not surprising, therefore, such being
the advocates of philately, that scientific col-
lecting is quite unknown. Paper, perfora-
tion, and watermarks are nowhere ; envelopes
are cut, and, in the majority of cases, post
cards have to undergo the same operation.
Imagine my horror, when, one day, having
presented a young friend of mine with one
of the handsome Cingalese cards, he de-
liberately tore out the stamp before I could
prevent it, and threw the remainder away !
Envelopes are not even cut square, every
particle of blank paper being clipped away.

The only case (which is not too common)
in which the stamps are found in their
proper order is in collections which are kept
in prepared albums ; even then, when we come
to new issues, for which no spaces are
marked, we are quite in the dark, owing to
the absence of catalogues or any other
guides, the rule being then that the first
comer gets the first place in the cor-
responding page.

Fiscal and medicine stamps are, of course,
collected, and, as quack medicines are much
used, the United States page is usually a
very brilliant one, not taking into account
the dirtiness of the specimens themselves, the
consequence of the fingering* which they
must undergo in counting, comparison, &c.

I once saw in a collection a cuatro reales
of Costa Rica, black, which I had also seen
in another place, viz., in a German news-
paper, serving as illustration to a stamp
advertisement, the fortunate possessor of the
specimen being fully aware of the fact !
This will slmw what collecting was then,
but I am happy to say that it is a little better
now.

Though there have been, and still are,
dealers in stamps (after a fashion), and of

136

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

whom I shall speak further on, it is no very
easy matter for the majority of collectors to
procure them. The usual mode is to get
them from commercial friends ; and for the
less privileged, from some office mozn, or else
by going to the post-office on mail days to
peep over people's shoulders while they read
their letters, in order to get a sight of the
stamps, and then to pester them with their
fiac/ame el favor de darme los sellitus, sennr.

The following freaks I am afraid will
hardly be credited. During the war with
Spain, in 1865-6, it was the custom among
patriotic elide nos to place the stamps of that
country with the queen's head upside down !
Those who collected only used stamps, when
they came across an unused one, would
instantly make a pen-stroke on it, as if the
mark wdiich made it useless were a proof
that it was a " used " stamp. All the fore-
going I am able to state from personal
experience, having seen a great many col-
lections in my time.

The first time I saw foreign stamps offered
for sale here "was about five years ago, when
one day a new signboard with the following
Words caught my eye : " Sellos para Colec-
ciones," and " Stamps for Collections," on
either side of an eagle holding a bundle of
cigarettes in its beak (for the dealer in
stamps was also a " cigarrero") I entered
the place, and asked to see the stamps. From
under the counter a little cardboard box was
produced, which contained the whole stock-
in-trade, consisting entirely of used stamps,
with the prices marked on the back, which,
I remember, were higher or lower, according
to the look of the stamps. At present there
are two "dealers," the stock of one of whom
may be seen in his window, in a little heap ;
the other hangs out a little sheet of paper
headed Sella para Oolecciones, on which are
stuck half-a-dozen dirty used stamps of the
commonest kind. The way the stamps are
procured is, by sending some one to the
post-office to pick up or beg for whatever
he can. I forgot to mention that there was
once a shop at which really good stamps
could be procured, both used and unused,
and therefore evidently imported in letters,
instead of on them. I have bought many a
fine stamp there, and ai reasonable prices too.

NEWLY-ISSUED OR IXEDITED
STAMPS.

Spain. — The country which furnishes almost

the only interesting intelligence which ap-
pears in the daily papers is also the one I >
which we must look for the greatest novelty
in the stamp way. The pretender, whose "on
to Madrid" march seems destined to be
interminable, has forestalled his accession to
the Spanish throne by the issue of postage
stamps bearing his effigy. It is some
months since the report of an emission ob-
tained currency, but the actual type differs
considerably from the apocryphal designs
previously described. We annex an en-
graving of it, and may add
that no reasonable doubt can
be entertained as to the fact
of its being in circulation in
the mountain districts, which
are dominated by the legiti-
mist bands. The portrait of
Don Carlos — the first we have
seen — is a pleasing one. The
general disposition combines boldness with
simplicity. As for the execution, that, it
appears, leaves much to be desired, the
stamps being only rough lithographs, struck
off at Bayonne, or, as some assert, at
Bordeaux. Our Belgian confrere expresses
some surprise that the value should be ex-
pressed in reales ; but the new currency is of
such recent date, and the old is so frequently
used in calculating, that Don Carlos may be
excused for not giving in his adhesion to the
decimal system. Besides, if he succeeded,
would he not regulate everything according
to the old regime ?

The stamp above represented is printed in
pale blue on white wove paper, and is un-
perforated ; a companion, value '1 rls., bear-
ing the full-face portrait of Don Carlos, and
struck in green, is likely to make its appear-
ance.

To the Amadeus series we have to add a
40 c. de peseta, blue.

Nothing is \ ei said about official cards, and
meanwhile the unofficial issues of Hon .M. P.
ile Figueri ia and his imitators remain current.
When describing these cards, the Timbre-Poste
look occasion to comment on the funereal

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

137

appearance of the sombre frame, with its
crosses at the angles, to which Don Figueroa
wittily replies, that the frame and the crosses
have a meaning, which he reads thns : —
+ Here lie the Spanish Finances.
+ Here lies Military Discipline.
+ Here lies Public Order.
+ Here lie the Rights of Property.
" The black frame," he adds, "reminds us
Spaniards of the mourning we wear in our
hearts, for we are watching the funeral of
poor Spain."

Our learned friend, not satisfied, however,
with introducing these significant post cards
into circulation, has also gone the length of
transplanting our English official cards into
Spain. We have before us a halfpenny
post card, which in the first place passed
through the English post. Across the back
Don Figueroa has written a communication,
and across the front has added his correspon-
dent's address. This card, with an adhesive
5 c. Spanish attached to the upper left corner,
passed through the Spanish post, and was
delivered in due course. Another English
card, not previously used in this country,
was served in a similar manner ; it reached
destination with the Spanish adhesive at-
tached to it, obliterated, and the English
impressed stamp untouched. This employ-
ment in one country of another country's
emissions is probably unique in its way.

Prussia. — It would appear that a private
company has been carrying letters, cards,
and printed matter in
Berlin since the 1st June,
and has issued a stamp
and a post card, both of the
value 2 pf. We had no
great confidence in this
announcement when it first
reached us, for it seemed to
us that if, as we suppose,
the postal laws are the same in Germany as
in most countries, no interference with its
monopoly would be permitted. However,
the stamp of the company seems to be so
generally believed in that we must presume
it to be a really authentic emission. The
inscription simply says DESPATCH OF PRINTED
matter, and it is possible that in respect of
printed matter the infringement of the postal

gCEJLLCKOH

monopoly may have been sanctioned ; but
the Gazette des Timbres says that, ma Ig re the
inscription, correspondence, of no matter
what kind, in the town and environs, may be
sent by this local post, and the statement is
to some extent borne out by the appearance
of the post card. The Gazette gives as an
on dit that the decree of concession is dated
the 1st May, 1873, and that the post began
its service on the 27th of the same month.
The director is said to be a Mr. J. J. Schreiber,
formerly in business as an agent in Paris.

The post card is a large buff rectangle,
with an impression in black from the die of
the adhesive 2 pf. at the top, in the right
corner, and trade advertisements running
down (not across) the face. The adhesive
stamp, we have omitted to state, is struck in
black on thin carmine paper, and perforated.

Russian Locals. — Toropelz (Pskoff.) — -The
annexed engraving is that of the envelope
described two years
since. The building
depicted, which has
something of a light-
house about it, must
surely have a history
worth the ascertain-
ing. The impression
is in black on plain
white wove paper.

Orgnieff (Bessarabia). — From Brussels we
learn that two stamps have appeared for
this district, which forms part of the terri-
tory (not government) of Bessarabia.

Turkey. — We announced a long time since
that the Constantinople local post had been
re-established ; but instead of being fanned
out, it has been managed by the government
department, which for three years has been
content to use the stamps of the general
series for the local service. A new emission,
specially intended for the capital, is reported
by M. Moens to be on the point of making-
its appearance; but without waiting for it,
the authorities have surcharged four of the
existing values with the word cheir, signi-
fying "local," or "local service." Of these,
the first two are the 10 paras violet and 1
piastre yellow ; the other two, 20 paras
brown and 1 piastre brown, belong to the
unpaid-letter set.

*JX$5for>h

138

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

United States. — The official stamps came
into use on the 1st July, and are as follows : —
Agricultural Department. — 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 12,

15, and 30 cents, yellow.
Executive. — 1, 2, 3, 6, and 10 cents, carmine.
Interior.— 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 12, 15, 24, 30, and

90 cents, vermilion.
Justice.— 1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 12, 15, 24, 30, and

90 cents, violet.
Treasury.— 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, 24, 30,

and 90 cents, deep brown.
Post Office. — Numeral of value, official

above, and stamp below, in oval white

centre ; post office dept. above the oval,

u. s. and value below.

1, 2, 3, 6, 10, 15, 24, 30, and 90 cents,

black.
State.— 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, 24, 30, and

90 cents, green. Profile of Seward, in

oval, DEPARTMENT OF STATE above, U. S. OF

A. in lower angles.
2, 5, 10, and 20 dollars, head black, frame
gre< i.
War.— 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, 24, 30, and
90 cents, carmine.

ENVELOPES.

War.— 1, 2, 3, 0, 10, 12, 15, 24, 30, and 90
cents, red on white, lemon, and salmon
paper.
Post Office. — In solid oval disk, official — 3 —
stamp; post office dept.
above, and value in
words below in oval
frame ; and u. s. in small
disks let into the frame.
2, 3, and 6 cents, black
on lemon.
We have received a speci-
men of the 3 cents, here
figured. Besides the
stamp the envelope bears sundry inscriptions,
including a form of address.

It will be understood that, except when a
special description is given, the central me-
dallions are the same as those on the
corresponding stamps of the general series,
and that the name of the department is in
every instance inscribed above the medallion.
The position of the letters u. S. varies ; in
the Executive and War sets they are found
in tho upper corners ; in the other depart-

ments, except that of Justice, in the lower
corners ; from the Justice series they are ab-
sent. The sets are not all complete ; the
Executive only numbers five, and the Agri-
cultural seven values ; and the 7 c. is found
in only three of the sets. The difficulty re-
specting the colours which we foresaw would
occur, has arisen. The 10 c. of the Execu-
tive, the 24 c. of the Justice, and the 1 cent
of the War are apparently in the same
colour as their congeners in the series for
general use, and two departments, accoi'ding
to The American Journal of Philately, from
which we take the above list, have only one
colour — red — between them. Our American
contemporary does not believe that the
system of a special series for each department
can last, and we ourselves must admit we
cannot see anything to recommend it.
Probably it will not remain long in vogue.

Finland. — The new card, in its principal
features, resembles its predecessor, but the
inscriptions have all been changed. In our
correspondence columns will be found a
letter explaining the purport of the new
inscriptions.

Belgium. • — In our June number we gave
an engraving of the design for the new
Belgian envelope stamp. We have now
specimens before us, and we are sorry to
find that they scarcely bear out the encomium
we then passed upon the grand features of
the design. As we then stated, the border
has no claim to originality, either in con-
ception or design ; and the effect of white
relief of the king's head on the green ground
is marred by the prominence given to the
engraver's initials, which appear in letters
in white relief. We also said that " the
effect must necessarily depend on the exe-
cution." This latter leaves much to be
desired, but we think a great portion of the
want of effect is due to the poorness of the
paper employed. It is thin, plain, white
wove, not quite so good as that employed
for the first series of the Austrian envelopes.

Alaska. — Some time since we quoted a
rumour, to which currency was first given
by our Parisian contemporary, to the effect
that stamps were being used in this terri-
tory ; this statement was inaccurate, but, as
the Gazette now shows, had a foundation in

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

139

KbstL

ScEairoWg Lipptstln
Kegienmg ■

fact. Owing to the scarcity of coin in that
out-of-the-way region, payments were made,
under the Russian rule, by means of small
inscribed squares of parchment, of a con-
ventional value, ranging from 5 kopecs to
50 roubles. These bits of parchment had a
hole pierced through the upper corner, so
that they might be strung on a string. These
were the labels which a passing traveller
mistook for postage stamps. They were all
called in and destroyed upon the transfer of
the territory to the United States.

Schaumbourg-Lippe.— This unpretending
label is an official stamp, hailing from the
above-named small German state. The in-
scription takes the form
of a notice: "This letter
does not pay postage,
pursuant to notice No. 8
of the government of the
principality of Schaum-
bourg-Lippe." Itisstruck
in black, on green, and
other states are said to employ similar
stamps. Schaumbourg-Lippe was one of
the states formerly served by the Thurn and
Taxis post, and now included in the Imperial
dominions. The mere emission of the above
stamp does not entitle it to be reckoned
among the list of postage stamp issuing
countries, this official label being, in fact,
nothing more than a label employed by the
executive of a state which has no postal
service of its own.

Fernando Po. — It is a long time since an.
apocryphal stamp for this Spanish colony was
chronicled. No satisfactory proof of its ex-
istence has ever been given, and most col-
lectors have long since classed it with the
series of myths or fabrications. A genuine
provisional has, however, now made its ap-
pearance, being no other than the 10 c. Cuba,
type 1871, surcharged Fernando po in a
half circle, in black capitals, and with a
large crown below surcharged in blue ; the
latter, say Messrs. Grant & Co., from whose
circular we quote the intelligence, may be
obliteration, but the black lettering can only
point to one conclusion.

Philippine Islands. — We copy the fol-
lowing from the current Timbre-Poste. "Two
new stamps have just been forwarded to us.

They bear the effigy of Amadeus, of the
type already known, and are printed on
white paper."

25 cent de peseta, mauve.

1 peseta, 25 cent, bistre.
These stamps have been issued during the
present year, as well as the 12 c. de p. blue,
and 62 c. de p. carmine-rose. Those issued
in 1872 were as follows : —
12 c. de p.,

62
1 p., 25 c.

rose,

ultramarine, dull blue.

mauve.

blue on flesh.

Skrvia. — The 2 para stamp — printed in
black on white wove paper and unperforated
■ — proves to differ from the
preceding type principally
in the portrait, which is
certainly a grotesque one,
as our readers will per-
ceive. The date of emission
was the lst/13th of June.
Japan. ■ — We annex an
engraving of the new 4 sen
rose which, while differing in detail, is
essentially of the same design as the other
low values of the cur-
rent series. We may
here mention that a
postal convention be-
tween Japan and the
United States has been
signed, which, if it does
not necessitate the issue
of new values, wdl at
any rate render more common those now in
use.

German Empire. — The permission granted
to the public to deliver their own envelopes
to the post-office to be stamped with the
impressed stamp, has been extended to
newspaper bands and post cards ! Here we
light on another fruitful source of valueless
varieties. Already the newspaper bands
are found on green, rose, hlac, white, straw,
and azure ; and the cards on blue, green,
grey, white, flesh, straw, and rose. At the
risk of being charged with unnecessary
reiteration, we beg to express the hope that
these unofficial varieties will find no favour
with English collectors. There is nothing
to prevent their multiplication to an almost

1-10

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

indefinite extent, and they offer really no
interest from a philatelic point of view.

Montenegro. — Of the forthcoming type
for this dependent principality we were able
to give full particulars in
our last. We have, there-
fore, only to supplement
our description on the pre-
sent occasion by the repre-
sentation of the type. The
actual emission of the
series has not yet taken
place.

The promised post card has
and proves to be an

Heligoland
made its appearance
unstamped one of large dimensions, bearing
the royal arms in the centre, with Heligo-
land on the left and post-office on the right.
Below the arms are the words post card and
POST karte, and on the right upper corner a
dotted square, to receive the stamp. There
are two other cards on which the inscriptions
are all in German. The impression is black
on buff.

New Zealand. — The sheet of the new
halfpenny stamps consists of 240 impressions,
and is watermarked with a line which forms
a kind of frame, and by another line which
cuts it down the centre. Furthermore, the
letters N. z. are repeated eleven times across,
and ten times up the sheet, so that there are
stamps with and stamps without watermark.

Chill- — In our February number we de-
scribed the supporters of the Chilian arms as
being a condor and a horse ; we were right
as to the former, but Mr. L. W. Meyer,
of Valparaiso, informs us that the animal
which we took to be a horse, is really the
" huemul " — a kind of deer.

Palilunpook.— We leave to The Stamp the
responsibility for the following : — " Pahlun-
poor (British. Burmah ?). — We are inf brmed
that a set of local stamps of seven values
(probably the same as those for Deccan) are,
or shortly will be, issued."

T. B. Morton & Co., Constantinople. — This company,
it appears, has failed. The Stamp contains a copy of the
notification to creditors published in lite Levant Herald,
pursuant to the provisions of the Bankruptcy Act of 1869.
The withdrawal of the company's stamps nowr finds a
reasonable explanation, and M. Moons can hardly take
credit to himself for having brought about their sup-
pression.

NOTES FOR COLLECTORS.— VI.

BY A PARISIAN COLI.F.CTOU. ,

Austria.

(Continued from page 117.)
POSTAL CARDS.

To Austria belongs the honour of introducing
postal cards, an invention for the extension
of cheap postal communication, which has
now been adopted, not only throughout the
greater part of Europe, but also in Asia and
in North and South America. The " singular
vagary " of the Austrian postal authorities,
as we remember it was termed by one of the
contemporaries of this magazine, has long
lost its individuality, and may now be looked
upon as a regular postal institution.

In one respect, the collection of postal
cards has a decided advantage over the
collection of postal envelopes. The institution
is of a later date ; philately, then unborn,
has now become a science ; what constitutes
a variety, and is worthy of collection, has
now become pretty well known, and it will
therefore be the collector's own fault if he
loses the opportunity of making something
nearly perfect, at a very small cost. We
say nearly perfect, for there is every symptom
that the varieties will be very considerable ;
and the collector should use due diligence
to seize upon them as they appear, or they
will slide imperceptibly into the class of
unattainables.

We are not certain as to the exact date
of the first issue of postal cards in Austria.
Dr. Magnus gives it as the 1st of October,
18G9 — a date which is difficult to reconcile
with the fact that their appearance was
chronicled in the philatelic journals of the
previous month of August.

The Austrian postal cards are all type-
printed in black, and for the most part upon
a thin card of a pale buff colour. The
stamp is lithographed in colour at the right
upper corner. The size of the card is 3f
inches, by about 4^ inches. The general
design of the border is the same in all the
issues, but there are small differences in the
type, as also in the size of the cards, some id'
them having only 98 denticles in the exterior
border, while others have 100.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

141

First Issue.
1869. — This card bears on its face the
inscription correspondenz-karte in an arch
over the Austrian arms, and the words an
and in, with dotted lines for the name and
address of the party to whom it is sent ; and
in the right upper corner a stamp of the
value of 2 kr., of the type then and now in
use. On the back, near the top is the
inscription raum fur schrietliche mitthei-
lungen (room for written communication),
and below, a notice to the effect that the
post-office undertakes no responsibility for
the contents of the communications.

2 kr., chrome-yellow, light and dark ditto.

Second Issue.

The date of issue of this type is involved
in some obscurity, but it appears probable
that it took place about the month of June,
1871. This is only one among many instances,
of the difficulty of assigning any fixed date
to the appearance of an issue which replaces
another on the gradual exhaustion of the
former.*

The type and general features of the
second issue are similar to those of the first ;
but on the face of the card, the word adressb
is substituted for an. The inscriptions on
the back are also wanting, and are replaced
in the left upper corner by the following : —
am 187...

A portion of this issue is found on cards
of a darker buff colour.

2 kr., chrome-yellow (shades), orange-yellow.

2 ,, chrome-yellow, on darker buff-coloured card.

Later in the same year, these cards ap-
peared with the addition of the translation
of the inscription into one of the other
languages in use in the empire. The type
is similar to that last described, save the
addition of the second language. The Aus-
trian arms on the face are also of smaller
dimensions. The inscription on the back is
to the left.

Korespoxdencni listek, for Bohemia.
Carta da corrispondenza, in Italian, for the Illyrian
provinces.

* All the principal stamp magazines for last month
stated that the 3d. English made its appearance on the
loth of July. We ourselves purchased it on the 9th, at a
country post-office nearly 100 miles from London.

Karta korespondencyjna, for Gallicia.

KAPTA KOP (KARTA KORESPONDENTSIEXAIa),

in Ruthenian.
Listnica, for Sclavonia.

Third Issue.

In the year 1872 another issue for Austria
proper was made, as also another in the two
languages. This issue differs from the pre-
vious one in this respect only — that the in-
scriptions on the back, instead of being towards
the left upper corner, are towards the right
upper corner. We believe that this variety is
found throughout the whole of the five double-
language cards. We have seen it in all, except
the Ruthenian, and it doubtless exists in that.
The colour of the card in this issue also
varies, and specimens are found in darker
buff.

Fourth Issue.

Towards the close of the year 1872, the
postal cards commenced to appear without
any inscription on the back, and this issue
is in actual vise at the present time. The
cards for Austria proper have been issued in
this form, as also those for Bohemia and
Gallicia ; and most probably the others will
follow.

^VustriiUt Jfotcigit (Dfffrcs.

Early in the present year a postal card
was issued for the use of the Austrian branch
offices in the Levant and in other parts of
Turkey. The card is like the ordinary
Austrian, and bears on its face the words
carta da corrispondenza in an arch over
the small type of the Austrian arms, as em-
ployed for the postal cards in two languages.
The stamp is 4 soldi* in rose, of the same type
as that of the series of 1867, except that the
value is expressed in full — soldi — instead of
being abbreviated. There is no inscription
on the back of the card which is of a pale
buff colour.

* We are indebted to Mr. Max Joseph for pointing out
to us. an error into which we fell in our last paper. We
there stated that when the change was made in the
monetary system in Austria, the value of the lira was
made equal to that of the florin, and was divided into
100 soldi. We ought to have said that the currency was
rendered uniform, the florin, or florino, being adopted as
the unit, the former being divided into 100 kreuzer, t.nd
the latter into 100 soldi.

142

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

•Sjungari).

Towards the close of 1869 a card was

issued similar to that first issued for Austria,

except that the arms of Austria were replaced

by those of Hungary in a shield surmounted

by the crown of St. Stephen. Another

was also issued of the same type, but with

the inscriptions in Hungarian, instead of

German; the words correspondenz karte on

the face being replaced by levelezesi lap ;

the inscriptions on the back being also in

Hungarian. The cards are in various shades

of light buff.

2 ki\, chrome-yellow, light and dark.

2 kr., chrome-yellow (card of darker buff.)

SECOND ISSUE.

Early in 1871, a short time previous to
the issue of the 1871 series of stamps and
envelopes, a further issue of postal cards
took place for Hungary. The border differs
from that of the card previously described,
and as a pretty accurate representation of it
was given at page 88 of the ninth volume
of this magazine, we will refer our readers
to what was there stated. The engravinaf
is not quite accurate in size, the card
measuring 4^ inches by 3 inches be-
tween the exterior borders. A later issue,
in 1872, measures one-sixteenth of an inch
less both in length and width, and the words
czim and adresse are farther apart.

Type 1871. 2 kr., dark ochre-yellow.

Type 1872. 2 kr., ochre-yellow, dark and light.

LOCAL STAMPS.

xlanubian Steam fUbigattoit
QTompann.

These stamps, described by Mr. Overy
Taylor in vol. ix., page 7, are lithographed
on white unwater-
marked paper. Spe-
cimens of the first
issue exist which are
not perforated, but
whether this was the
case with those first
issued, or whether it
was an accidental
circumstance, is not very clear. One thing
is clear, that the perforation 12 existed for

a few months prior to the larger perforation
of 9|.

Classification.

I. — -1st April, I860. Imperforate.

17 soldi, scarlet.

II.— Perforated 12.

17 soldi, scarlet.

III.— Perforated 9|.

August, 1866. — 10 soldi, lilac-mauve (shades).

1867.— 17 ,, scarlet (shades).
August, 1868. — 10 ,, bright green (shades).
July, 1871.— 10 „ scarlet.
This latter is said to be an error of printing. See vol.
ix., page 152.

THE PERSIAN STAMPS.

(Reprinted from La Gazette ties Timbres.)
One of our leading Parisian amateurs, to
whose courtesy we owe the earliest details
respecting these stamps, has kindly com-
municated to us a letter and packet he has
received from Teheran. The following is an
extract from the letter.

Teheran, 3rd April, 1873.
I should add for your guidance that there is no post in
Persia. Two years ago an originator of reforms, of whom
so many are to be found in the East, persuaded the Shah
that it was of essential importance that his realm should
be endowed with a postal administration, and the pro-
ject, like all novelties, proving very seductive to his
Iranian Majesty, the stamps, of which I send you speci-
mens, were at once prepared in Europe. Things remained,
however, at a stand-still, and there exists at present in
Persia no mode of receiving, assorting, carrying, or dis-
tributing correspondence, except a Kussian post-office
attached to the imperial consulate at Tauris. All letters
for or from the European colonists are carried by the
couriers of the legations.

With this letter were forwarded five
stamps, of which two are on thin paper,
gummed and unperforated. They were evi-
dently printed abroad [<///., at home], and
are similar to the 8 already described. Both
are blue, and bear the Indo- Arabic figure -1.
The other three specimens are carefully
printed in colours identical with those of the
essays in our collection. They are struck in
colour on white papers, perforated 12|, and
gummed. The values, expressed in Indo-
Arabic numerals, are as follows : — ■

1, violet.

2, green.
8, red.

which with the 4, blue, completes the four
known denominations.

On reading the above letter a query

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

143

presents itself. Are these impressions post-
age stamps ? Are they not rather proofs ?
Here we must take leave to introduce a
parenthetical remark. The Persian corres-
pondent is mistaken in stating that the
fabrication of these stamps in Europe took
place two years since. It was in 1865 that
they were engraved at the Paris mint, as
witness an article in Le Timbrophile of the
15th of September of that year.

This much settled, the letter testifies to
the entire absence of postal relations with the
exterior, and to an equal lack of arrange-
ment for the service in the interior. Of what
use, then, would postage stamps be, seeing
there is not even a local service ? But if the
accuracy of the other details given be ad-
mitted, and we have no reason to doubt it,
all these stamps must be considered essays.
For the three perforated stamps, the analogy
of colour, paper, and piquage (12|) with those
already existing in philatelic albums, yields
more than a presumption. They are, most
probably, essays which have made the
journey from Paris to Teheran and back.
As to the others, — is the case the same ?
These imperforated stamps on thin paper — ■
may they not be proofs struck off in Persia ?
We lean to that belief; for had they been
stamps, and not proofs, nothing would have
been easier to a person in the position of the
writer of the letter than to purchase speci-
mens at the post, and send them to his
correspondent. If they are not perforated,
it is simply because no perforating machine
is to be found in Teheran. They have been
divided by the scissors.

We think, then, that all these proofs are
simply essays — interesting ones, especially
the native impressions — because they prove
that the project had been followed by a
commencement of execution, as was the case
with the first .Paraguayan type.

However it may be, and much as we may
regret the loss of our illusions, we cannot
consider the question as definitively settled.
The Shah's journey through Europe gives
rise to a well-founded hope, that amongst
many other improvements adopted in Persia
we may see that of the establishment of a
postal service, accompanied by the use of
postage stamps.

EEVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS.

Alfred Smith 8f Co.'s Descriptive Price Cata-
logue of the Postage Stamps of All Nations.
Nineteenth Edition. London : E. Marl-
borough & Co. Bath : Alfred Smith & Co.

It is some time since we last had a peep at
our publishers' catalogue. We find the new
edition substantially the same as its prede-
cessors— its covers brilliantly yet tastefully
ornamented, and its contents printed with a
neatness and accuracy which would gratify
the most critical eye. Good printing is far
more common than it was a few years back ;
yet we are confident that it would be difficult
to find a publication which in its typo-
graphical arrangements surpasses the modest
catalogue under review. If we thus insist
on the excellence of the get-up, it is simply
because a catalogue is nothing if not well
printed. Plunging into the subject-matter
itself we find that the lists are fully brought
up to date. The new Argentine 1 and 4 c.
are quoted and priced, as are also the 3d.
Bermuda, the Chilian envelopes, the 6d.
grey-black English, the Iceland series, &c,
&c. In fact, the catalogue, upon its present
plan, could hardly be more complete. Its
compilers do not pretend to include the
secondary varieties, their work is but a mere
outline compared with the analytical studies
of writers such as Mr. Pembertou ; but
Messrs. Alfred Smith & Co.'s catalogue is
well adapted for the purpose it has to fulfil.
Price lists are not so much required for ad-
vanced philatelists as for the great bulk of
collectors, and to them no better work than
the present could be offered. The stock which
comprises, if our addition of the figures be
correct, some 2900 different stamps, accord-
ing to the catalogue, may be assumed to
include also those minor varieties which
scientific collectors make the object of their
search. We fear that the price list cannot
be a directly profitable speculation for our
publishers ; we can, however, hardly doubt
but that indirectly the pains bestowed on its
preparation bring their reward, and we trust
it will be our privilege to review many future
editions of this really useful little work.

144

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

i stf\rs\iu iTltj

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

Railway .Stamps. — It is not long since an ingenious
plan for collecting a uniform railway rate by means of
stamps was mooted. In Italy a
n/vr.rr/wjuirju.jwi/vvu'. railway stamp is already in use,
and its possession secures the
application of a " uniform" rate.
I n other words, the officers of the
army, who have a right to a re-
duction of 78 per cent, on the or-
dinary fares, in order to obtain
it must present to the railway
authorities a little book in proof of
their identity, which book con-
tains the officer's portrait, and
below it the adhesive stamp here
represented, which should be obliterated by the bearer's
signature. On the death or retirement of an officer his
book is returned to the minister of war.

Fo.st Cauds. — From the Rcvisla de Gorreos we learn
that post cards have nourished, are nourishing, and are
likely to continue to flourish in their natal country —
Austria. In the first year following their emission
(1st October, 1869, to 30th September, 1870) the number
issued was a little under nine millions ; in the next year
it advanced to eleven millions ; in the third year, ending
30th September, 1872, fifteen millions were distributed,
and since then the monthly total of the sales has
approached a million-and-a-half, which, for the whole
year will give eighteen millions, or double the number
sold in the first year. In France, the adoption of post
cards has given rise to abuses such as followed their
appearance in this country. Two trials for slander have
taken place, in which the defendants have been cast in
heavy damages. A report went the round of the French
press last month that the post cards were to be with-
drawn, as they were found not to suit the habits of the
French people, and consequently were not paying their
way. This statement has, however, been denied, on
official authority, by the Rdppel, which states that the
post cards are fully answering the expectations formed of
them, and that the number of closed letters shows no
diminution. The present postmaster, M. Itampont, retires,
through a political intrigue, and is succeeded by M.
Libon, a member of the permanent staff, under whose
rule we may look for important changes.

CORRESPONDENCE.

VARIETIES OF WATERMARK.

To the Editor of" The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."
Dear Sir, — I write to make a few addenda to
"Etonia's" list of errors of watermark, given in your
July number. They are : —

New South Wales. — 1862 rect., diademed head.
2d. blue, watermark thin 1
Id. red, „ „ 2

Id. ,, ,, ,, 2 inverted.

Victoria.— 1866 rect., diademed head.

6d. blue, wmk. " Sixpence " inverted.
For my part (and this is a matter to be decided by ench
collector for himself), I do not admit reversed watermarks,
because if we do so wc are bound by consistency to add to
the two varieties— normal and inverted — yet two other
varieties, making a total of four distinct sets", viz. : normal,
normal reversed, inverted, and inverted reversed.

This, as I have already observed, is a matter of taste,
hut surely the same tolerance is not to be extended to
the watermarks at the borders of sheets, on which the

stamps occasionally encroach. I refer to the parallel
lines, and portions of the words VICTORIA, postage, kv..
Your.-;, &c,
Dunfermline. E BEYER 1DUE.

RUSSIAN LOCAL STAMPS AND FINLAND

POST CARD.

To the Editor of "The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — I notice in the description of the Russian
local for Ekaterinoslav a slight mistake with regard to
the writing of the name. The Russian name for Catha-
rine is Ekaterina (not Katarina, which does not exist),
or, to write the name with Russian characters— Ekame-
puria. You will, therefore, see that the E on the stamps
stands for Ekaterina, and not for the Russian K, which is
the same as the English K.

In his very interesting and valuable essay, entitled.
" An Introduction to the Study of the Russian Local
Stamps," Mr. Taylor says that he deemed it advisable
not to include the Livonian stamps with the Russian
locals. I am sorry to disagree with that gentleman's
opinion. I certainly do put the Wenden stamps under
the Russian locals, and why should not I do so ? Although
these stamps were issued some years before the Russian
locals, and have a history of their own, they, for that
reason, do not cease to be Russian Local Stamps. Is not
Livonia as much a part of the Russian empire as Tver,
Rjasan, Saratoff, &c. ? Livonia itself does not occupy an
exclusive position towards Russia, like Poland or Finland ;
why, therefore, should her stamps be chronicled and
placed under a separate heading ? If there were a sepa-
rate stamp for the three Baltic provinces (Livonia,
Estonia, and Curland), which together enjoy, in many
respects, a different administration to that of Russia, I
could understand a separate heading, but not in the present
case. I put the Wenden stamps at the head of the
Russian locals, and look upon them as the precursors of
the latter; for who knows whether the Livonian stamps
did not give the first impulse to the now long and un-
broken line of Russian locals ? Looking at it in this
light I certainly think one cannot separate very well the
one from the other.

The new Finland post card shows, as you will be aware,
very little difference from the old one. The value — 8
penni — is the same, so is the colour, only several shades
paler. There is, further, a slight alteration in the lower
inscription. On the old cards it read (in each of the
three languages employed) as follows : on the face

OF THE CARD THE ADDRESS HAS TO BE -WRITTEN. Oil

the new ones it is altered to : on this side the address

HAS TO BE WRITTEN. TO RUSSIA IN THE RUSSIAN LAN-
GUAGE. The latter notice has probablv been necessitated
through people sending cards from Finland to Russia,
and addressing them either in Swedish or Finnish, which,
as those languages are not understood there, must have
caused a great many cards to be sent back again. This
may be the reason of the present issue.

I just observe that the Yeissiegonsk stamps are the first
to bear the name of their government or county, which
I think is a very noticeable feature. The lower label
bears an inscription which means county or government
of Tver, thus indicating that Yeissiegonsk is situated in
it. I think the Veissiegonsk stamp is, on the whole, a
marked improvement on the bulk of the present locals.
It is well printed, and the inscription particularly very
explicit.

I remain, dear Sir,

fours trulv,

Liverpool. JOHN SIEWERT.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

145

PAPERS FOR BEGINNERS.— No. XXX.

15 Y OVEltY TAYLOll.
EUROPE.

3@andbei\

The Hanoverian stamps, although not nume-
rous, yet offer a considerable number of
varieties, and though there
are no really obscure points
in their history, they still
require careful attention
on the part of beginners.

The first stamp to ap-
pear was the one guten-
groschen blue ; but for de-
scriptive purposes we had better consider it
as forming part of a series composed and is-
sued as follows : —

1850. 1 guten-groschen

1850-51. 1

blue.

green.

rose.

blue.

to ri yellow.

The dates, though I am not aware that any
official documents in justification have been
published, are generally accepted as correct,
and hence it would result that the circula-
tion of the stamps commenced shortly be-
fore the close of the reign of King Ernest
Augustus.

The series includes two types, one special
to the guten-groschen, the other common to
the remaining values. The two types closely
resemble each other, the only difference lying
in the shading of the shield and the manner
in which the value inscribed on it is indi-
cated. The shield on the 1 g.gr. shows an
arabesque ground, and on it is the figure 1
with the denomination running up the
centre. On the other values the shield is a
solid one, bearing the fractional denomination
in full, in two lines, crossing from left to
right,

The two guten-groschen stamps differ
among themselves in an important par-
ticular. Whilst the green shows the same
watermark as the other values, a well-
designed oaken crown, the blue appears, and
until 1870 was thought to be, " watermark-
less." In that year, however, M. Moens

discovered that it bore a watermark con-
sisting of a single-line rectangle, of nearly
the same size as the stamp, and so difficult of
detection that it had even escaped the notice
of so keen an observer as Dr. Magnus. Thus
it is pretty evident that the one g.gr. blue
was the forerunner of the series, and is
entitled to be classed apart as an entirely
separate issue. At one time it was suspected
of being a chemical changeling, but all
doubts as to its genuineness have long since
been dissipated, and it now properly heads
the list of Hanoverian stamps, though,
strangely enough, it happens that in the
archives of the Hanoverian post-office no
trace of a supply having been ordered can
be found. When the other values were
being prepared, and it was decided to print
the yV th. on blue, it became necessary to
select another colour for the 1 g.gr, and the
fresh supply — on green — was struck off on
the oak-crown watermarked paper.

As all the members of the series are
printed in black on coloured paper, the
varieties must be sought in the difference of
tint ; but as there is much less deviation
from the noi'mal shade in paper than in
coloured printing-ink — where the precise hue
depends on the proportions in which certain
ing-redients are found — the varieties of this
issue are not very striking. The ^ th. alone
exists in two distinct shades — salmon and
carmine-rose — both of which are collectable.
The varieties of the other vahies are un-
important.

The design of these stamps, which is very
finely engraved, is interesting from the fact
that it is in part formed of the English arms.
My youngest reader is no doubt acquainted
with the connection which' exists between
Hanover and Great Britain, and will there-
fore not be surprised to meet with the old
familiar lion and unicorn on the Hanoverian
issues, supporting the shield and the royal
crown of England. The armorial bearings
differ, however, in that the arms of Hanover,
on an " escutcheon of pretence,'" are sur-
charged on the centre of the shield, and the
motto, instead of Dieu et mon droit, is a Latin
one, suscipere et FINIRE, which can be easily
deciphered on the stamps without the aid
of a magnifier. For a full description of

146

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

the Hanoverian bearings I must refer my
readers to an interesting article by Fentonia,
published at p. 67 of the third volume of The
Stamp- Collector's Magazine.

The mode of expressing the value adopted
on the first series is an unusual one, the
fractional denomination occupying the centre,
and the equivalent in silber-groschen being
inscribed on the banderole on the right side.
This plan has one advantage, at any rate to
us philatelists, — it teaches us that 1 sgr. is the
thirtieth of a thaler, and remembering that
a thaler is, roundly speaking, worth three
shillings, we find that the silber-groschen
equals one penny and a fifth ; the early
Hanoverian issues, it may here be noticed,
are the only German stamps on which the
thaler is used to express the denomination.*
As to the giden-groschen, an obsolete cur-
rency, 24 of them went to the thaler, their
value being, therefore, just three-halfpence.
It seems strange that two stamps so nearly
alike in value as the 1 sgr. and 1 g.gr. should
have been maintained in circulation at the
same time, but such was the case for several
years.

On the loth April, 1853, the series re-
ceived an accession in the shape of a 8 pf.
brownish rose, of simple de-
sign : value in pfennige; name,
surmounted by a crown, in a
vertically-lined oval, with the
fractional value — ein drittel
sii.hku-groschen — on a scroll,
which serves as a border to
the upper half of the oval, the
whole in a plain single-line rectangle. Let
me, in passing, call my readers' attention to
the inscription of the fractional value — one-
third of a silber-groschen, — for later on we
shall meet with the same type, printed in
green, and bearing the value differently ex-
pressed. This early 3 pfennige is one of

* The German thaler dates back no farther than the
fifteenth century. It had its origin thus : the Counts of
Sehlick coined the silver extracted from their mines at
Joachim's ilial (Joachim's valley) into ounce pieces,
which received the name of Joachim's thalers. These
coins gained such a reputation that they became a kind of
pattern, and others of the same kind, though made in other
places, took the name, only dropping the first part of the
word for shortness. Dollar is a corruption of the word
"thaler," or " daler." — "Postage-stamp Money," The
Stamp-Collector's Magazine, vol. v., p. 129.

the rarest of the Hanoverians. It is distin-
guished from a later 3 pf . rose by its posses-
sion of the oaken-crown watermark.

The inaugural series of stamps on coloured
paper, with its attendant 3 pfennige in
colour on white was sup-
pressed on the 1st January,
1856, but the types were
maintained. The second sc-
ries differs from the first in
that it is printed on white
paper, covered with an open
network, running in a hori-
zontal direction, and composed of alternate
lozenges and hexagons. The impression is
in black, and only the network is coloured.
The values are reoeated without alteration —

gu ten-groschen
thaler
thaler
thaler

green.

rose.

blue.

orange-yellow.

In the 3 pf., which accompanies this issue,
the design is struck in rose, and the network
varies in colour from black to olive. The
T~ th. exists with very fine network. Oblite-
rated specimens are far from uncommon,
and unused copies of the other values may
also be met with showing this finer ground,
but it is tolerably certain that they are mere
unauthorised reprints, or rather concoctions.
The 1 g.gr. green and -^ th. rose exist
with the network running vertically, and are
veritable printer's errors.

The first two Hanoverian issues are
characterised by the possession of a peculiar,
thick, rose-coloured gum on the back, and
advanced collectors point with legitimate
pride to the fact that the colour of the gum
suffices to distinguish an original from a re-
print, in proof of the necessity for carefully
studying the backs as well as the fronts of
stamps. In effect, the official reprints of the
1856 series all bear a whitish gum. The
first series appears not to have been reprinted,
but a number of worthless proofs, intended
solely for sale to collectors, were struck off
in 1864. Thus we find impressions on
brown, blue, and rose paper, of the frac-
tional values ^ th., y1^ th., and T\ th., and
other similar changes were rung on the 3 pf.,
and on some of the 1856 stamps. Beginners

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

147

cannot give too wide a berth, to such profit-
less lumber.

In 1859 the series with the profile of the
blind King George V.* — finely engraved,
and of a design uniting many
of the most meritorious quali-
lities — made its appearance,
together with its satellite,
the 3 pf. rose. This latter is
distinguished from the first-
issued stamp of the same
colour and value by the ab-
sence of watermark. The values with pro-
file are as follows : —

1 grosc

hen

rose. •

2 „

blue.

3 „

yellow

Later on, in 1861, in conformity with the
understanding come to between the German
states, the colour of the 3 gr. was changed to
brown, and at the same time an additional
value was issued, — the 10 groschen, green.
The denominations of value, it will be ob-
served, are much simplified in this series ;
there are no perplexing fractions, nor con-
flicting " guten " and " silber " groschen, but
all are reduced to the one uniform currency
of groschens. For a short time, however, in
the year 1859 — whether before or after the
emission of the profile series M. Berger-
Levrault (my authority for the statement)
does not say — the 1 g.gr. green, of 1851, was
reissued for temporary circulation, probably
a supply of the old stock being opportunely
at hand to meet some accidental failing
of the current value.

The colour varieties of this series are
the result of successive editions. When the
changes above alluded to were made in 1861,
a fresh supply of the 1 gr. and 2 gr.
was printed off. Hence we have to catalogue
these values as follows : — ■

1 gr. deep rose (1859), light rose (1861).

2 ,, dull blue ( ,, ), deep ultramarine

(1861).
On the 1st April, 1860, a new value was

* The king lost his sight from an accident when quite
a youth, as is commonly reported, from his swinging a
long purse round and round, which accidentally struck him
such a blow on the eye as in the end to deprive him of
tight. — The Stamp- Collector's Magazine, vol. iii., p. 68.

issued, the \ groschen, in black on rath;
thick, yellowish- white paper.
This is an extremely simple
stamp. A thick single-line
rectangle encloses the word
Hannover, in block type, a
crown, a well-drawn post-
horn, and the value. The
1st January, 1864, witnessed
the appearance of a fourth 3 pfennige stamp,
this time printed in green on white, of the
same type as its predecessors, but differing
from them all in having the fractional value
expressed thus : drej zehntel silber-gros-
chen — three-tenths of a silber- groschen.
Probably the former denomination — one-
third sgr. — had been objected to as inac-
curate, there being ten, and not nine, pfennige
to the groschen.

The history of the Hanoverian adhesives
winds up with the perforation, or, more ex-
actly speaking, the piercing, of all the values,
except the 10 gr. The 3 pf ., 1 gr., and 3 gr.
underwent the operation in June, 1864, and
the \ gr. and 2 gr. in 1865 or 1866. Owing
to the comparatively short time during
which the perforated supply of the two latter
values was in use, obliterated copies of the
same are not frequently met with ; but the
other three members of the series are
tolerably common. The perforated 1 gr. is
met with in rose and bright rose, and the
3 sgr., instead of brown, was issued perf. in
bistre.

ENVELOPES.

The first series of stamped envelopes was
issued on the 15th April, 1857. The design
consists of the profile of
King George V. to left,
in solid oval, in oval
engine turned border, in-
scribed, above the por-
trait, hannover, and be-
low EIN GUTER (1) GROS-
CHEN ; * the portrait and
the figure— which, on a
sn mil oval disk, intei'-
sects the value — are in white relief ; the let-
tering is sunken ; the usual microscopic in-
scription, EIN GUTER (or EIX, ZWEI, or DREI

£in silber (1) groschen, &c, as the case may be.

148

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

SILBEe) groschen post couvert, printed in
green ink, crosses the left upper corner in
which the stamp is struck ; the valnes and
dolours are the same as those of the adhesive
set, viz. : —

1 guter-groschen

green.

1 silber ,,

rose.

*- 11 11

blue.

3 ,, ,)

yellow.

Entire original envelopes of this series are
scarce, but all the values have been re-
printed on bluish tinted paper. A specimen
of the 1 g.gr. was discovered by M. Moens,
struck in rose, with the diagonal inscription
reading thus : ein probe post couvert
(postage envelope proof), instead of the usual
inscription. This proof envelope was pro-
bably an experiment.

The second series — issued on the 1st
October, 1858, a few months in advance of
the corresponding adhe-
sives — differs from the
first in the value, and
in the possession of two
circular disks in the bor-
der, one on either side of
the profile, instead of the
single oval disk at foot ;
said disks in the second
series being in white relief, with the numeral
of value sunk in the centre. Of this series
three editions appeared, all with green
diagonal inscriptions.

(1).— 1st October, 1858 ; stamp in left
upper corner.

1 groschen dark rose.

2 „ sky blue.

3 ,, chrome-yellow.

(2). — 20th November, 1861 ; stamp in
right upper corner.

1 groschen

^ n

3 »

rose,
blue,
stone

(3).— May, 1863;
corner.

stamp

1 groschen
o

3 „

rose,
blue,
stone

left

upper

It will be seen thai the first and third

editions are substantially the same, the only
difference being in the shade ; hence the dif-
ficulty in distinguishing with certainty, be-
tween them is excessive, whilst the necessity
for collecting both is questionable. The ap-
pearance of the third edition, however, was
neither due to whim nor accident. It was in
compliance with a suggestion of the Prussian
post-office that the second edition, with
stamp to right, was issued ; but the Hano-
verians had become so accustomed to the en-
velopes with stamp to left, that they loudly
objected to the innovation, protesting that
the stamp in its new position stood in the
wTay of the address. Such is the force of
habit. We, on our side, should probably be
equally dissatisfied were our post-office to
take to issuing envelopes with the stamps to
left. However, the Hanoverians got their
way. The stamp-to-right envelopes were
withdrawn, and the third series, above cata-
logued, was issued.

Originals of the first two editions are get-
ting comparatively scarce ; the members of
the third are, however, easily to be had, and
reprints of the first two are likewise plentiful.

Town of Hanover.

Envelopes of no less than four different
types in all were issued for the local service
of the town of Hanover. The two first were
not discovered until long after their suppres-
sion, and original impressions are of consi-
derable rarity. The earliest of these local
envelopes takes precedence of all the adhe-
sives issued for the general service of the
realm in right of age, it having been issued
on the 15th May, 1849; whilst the first
adhesive stamp, the 1 g.gr. blue, did not see
the light until December of the following
year. This is far from being" the only instance
of a stamp or envelope for local postage being-
issued prior to the regular introduction of
stamps. In this case the local envelope, or
cover, requires all the importance derivable
from priority of date to render it interesting,
for it is simply a sheet of white paper folded
thrice lengthwise, and then thrice crosswise,
so as to form an oblong to receive the address,
and on this oblong, above the space intended
for the address, is struck in gothic characters
the inscription bestellgeld-frei (post free).

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

149

On that part which forms the back when the
cover is folded into envelope shape, is an in-
scription in German, printed in black, to the
effect that "by the use of these covers, pro-
vided on the face with the stamp Bestellgelcl-
frci, letters are forwarded free of postage to
the persons to whom they are addressed
within the capital town of Hanover, the
suburb of Hanover (exclusive of the forest-
houses in the Eilenreid), in the suburb of
Glocksee, and in the parish of Linden ; these
covers will be sold by the Royal Hanover
Post-office at 3 g-gr. the dozen."

The second local cover shows a rather
more ambitious design, the front bearing a
wrood-engraved vignette, consisting of a
post-horn, half hidden in a foliate ornament,
at each corner. The corner ornaments are
connected together by faint lines which
form a rectangle, each line being broken in
the centre by the word bestellgeld-frei in
gothic characters. A small handstruck
stamp, like a postmark, in the lower left
corner, contains the same word surrounding
a post-horn, and itself enclosed in a single-
line circle. The reverse side of the cover
also bears an ornamental device on the por-
tion marked for the flap, and on the lower
part is an inscription similar to that on the
first cover, with the exception that the price
is raised to four g.gr. per dozen. The cover is
of bright yellow paper, the vignette and in-
scriptions are in black, and the handstruck
stamp in blue.

These covers were issued in sheets, upon
which two varieties are found side by side ;*
in one of the designs the ornamental corners
are all dissimilar ; in the other that of the
left lower corner is similar to that of the
upper right corner. The former variety was
reprinted in 1870.

On the 1st November, 1858, the orna-
mented covers were replaced by a buff-
coloured envelope bearing a circular embossed
stamp in green, struck on the left upper
corner. The stamp contains a trefoil leaf
in the centre, with post-horn below, and
inscription bestellgeld-frei in half-circle
above, within a single-line circle ; the whole
in relief on a plain ground. At the back,

* See The Philatelist, vol. v., p. 129.

on the upper flap, is the inscription, in
green, sold at the hanover post-office in

PACKETS OF TEN FOR 5

groschen. On the lower
flap is another inscription
in green, similar to that on
the covers, but more con-
cise : — POSTAGE FREE FOR THE
CAPITAL TOWN OF HANOVER,
THE SUBURB OF HANOVER, &C, &C. — a notice

which, by the way, clearly contradicts a
statement quoted in the second volume of
The Stam p- Collector s Magazine, to the effect
that these envelopes were in use throughout
the realm of Hanover. I have not been able
to trace any explanation of the appearance
of the trefoil on this local envelope ; does it
form part of the arms of the town ? The
question is one that deserves a reply ; and
at the same time the heraldic significance of
the horse which figures on the siicceeding
type merits investigation.

The trefoil envelope is rather rare, but
reprints are plentiful ; and some years ago
a number of them made their appearance cut
square and gummed at the back, although
the originals were certainly never issued as
adhesives.

On the 20th November, 1861 (date of issue
of the second edition of the second series of
envelopes with profile), the trefoil stamp
struck in left upper corner gave place to
another circular stamp, this time with
galloping horse in relief in centre, struck,
according to the newly-
adopted rule, in the right
upper corner. In this de-
sign the post-horn does not
figure, but the inscription,
bestellgeld-frei, is main-
tained, and the letter-press
on the flaps is the same as in the preceding
type.

In May, 1863, a second edition appeared,
with the stamp struck to left, which was re-
printed in 1870. It has been asserted by
M. Moens, on the faith of official documents,
that a supply of this type, impressed in left
upper corner, was issued on the 1st October,
1861, and was consequently in use for the
six weeks which elapsed between that date
and the known emission with stamp to right.

150

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Neither Dr. Magnus nor "A Parisian Col-
lector " have, however, been able to trace
this stamp, and its emission seems doubtful,
inasmuch as at the asserted date of issue the
decision had presumably been arrived at to
cease impressing the stamp in the left cor-
ner.

The Hanoverian stamps all became obso-
lete on the 1st October, 1866, when they
were superseded by the Prussian stamps.
Just before the war broke out in that year,
a new type for the envelope stamps was
prepared, which would probably have been
employed likewise for the adhesives. From
the annexed engraving it will
be seen that the type resem-
bles in its arrangement that
of the last Saxons. Of its
official character there is no
doubt, and only the result of
the war prevented the emis-
sion from becoming un fait
accompli The proofs which have found
their way into philatelic albums are printed
in rose, black, blue, and bistre, and the por-
trait of the king is said to be a remarkably
faithful one.

Corrigenda.

North German Confederation. — I have to
thank a correspondent for calling attention
to my omission to notice the two newspaper
wrappers of the Confederation. § groschen
green, and 1 kr. green, respectively, of the
same design as the corresponding adhesives.

Hamburg. — I have also to express my obli-
gation to the Rev. R. B. Earee for kindly
forwarding for inspection his specimen of
the Hamburg post card, originally described
by The Philatelist, the existence of which
I had ventured to query ; and to Mr. J. B. T.,
of Manchester, for the information he sent
concerning it. The card is the North Ger-
man one, inscribed nord Deutsche s post-
gebiet ; and an adhesive \ schg. stamp — the
one issued by the Confederation, without any
value in the centre, for use in Hamburg — is
in the upper right corner.

Letteiis from the Argentine Republic are no
longer forwarded by the foreign consuls or packet agents,
but are dispatched by the government postal administra-
tion.

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

La Gazette des Timbres. — Last month .we
announced the decease of this journal ; we
have now the pleasure of announcing its re-
suscitation, without any substantial change
in garb. The illustrated wrapper is of a
slate colour, instead of white ; this is the sole
external alteration ; but we regret to find
that Dr. Magnus's name as editor disappears
from the title, and the number before us,
consisting of eight pages of printed matter,
contains nothing from his pen. The entire
work connected with the Gazette now falls, at
least temporarily, on M. P. Mahe, and we
must say he has acquitted himself of it very
successfully. The bulk of the number is
occupied with the " Chronicle of Novelties,"
which contains notices of stamps issued
during the last two or three months. It is
preceded by an introductory paper, in which
the services rendered by Gazette the First are
narrated, and promises are made, which if
kept cannot fail to render the new comer as
interesting as its predecessor ; and the num-
ber closes with sundry short paragraphs.
Glancing over the " Chronicle " we are glad
to find M. Mahe recommends the rejection
of the multicoloured German cards and news-
paper wrappers, impressed to order by .the
Berlin post-office. We also find the fol-
lowing statement respecting the doubtful
Ecuador types : —

One of our correspondents, in constant communication
with this country (Ecuador), hands us, in the following
terms, the information we had requested him to obtain re-
specting the new types, which so quickly disappeared : — -

" The government of Ecuador had made a contract with
the printer for a certain number of stamps, of which the
stock is not yet exhausted, for only lately a fresh supply
was struck oft", which, although the printing was de-
fective, the government was obliged to accept. It is
another printer who has undertaken the new series."

We can understand now how it was that the new types,
which were put in circulation the 1st January, have all at
once disappeared, and been replaced by the old ones, of
which a large number still have to be used up.

From this we must presume that, as the
supply of the old stamps ran short towards
the close of last year, the government was
bound to have temporary recourse to the
new designs, and that as soon as the printer
had delivered his last batch of the old type
the employment of the new was stopped. It
is rather a pity M. Mahe's correspondent was

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

151

not more explicit, for the most plausible con-
jectures are but poor substitutes for solid
facts.

Under the heading Switzerland M. Mahe
publishes the statement of a Berlin corres-
pondent, to the effect that his letters from
Bale, Fribourg, and Geneva are prepaid
with the German 1 groschen, bearing the
ordinary Swiss cancellation. He explains
this anomaly by the fact that a convention
between Germany and Switzerland has just
come into operation, under which letters be-
tween the two countries are carried at the
rate of 1 groschen, or 12| centimes ; and as
Switzerland has not had time to issue a
stamp of the latter value, she provisionally
uses the German 1 groschen. This, if the
correct explanation, is certainly a strange
one. The general rule is to create a pro-
visional stamp, pending the fabrication of a
supply of the new value, and such a thing as
the stamps of one country being officially
employed by another has never before been
heard of.

Le Timbre-Poste for September is princi-
pally remarkable for the commencement of a
useful article on the " Stamps of Parma," in
which the decree of the 7th March, 1852,
which regulated the emission of the first
series, is published at length. From that de-
cree it results that the two stamps printed in
black on colour (10 c. black, 40 c. blue), which
it has hitherto been supposed were issued after
the 5 c, 15 c, and 25 c, colour on white, were,
in fact, issued at the same time, and that the
five values consequently form one and the
same series. Following this article comes
M. Moens' announcement of his intention to
issue, at the beginning of the year, a journal
similar in its get-up to Le Timbre-Poste,
treating solely of fiscal stamps, and to be en-
titled Le Timbre-Fiscal ; the editorship is to
be confided to Dr. Magnus. This is a much
better plan than mixing up postage and
fiscal issues together, and we are very glad
we shall not meet any references to the
latter in the pages of our old friend.

The Philatelist presents a full list of new
issues, followed by the continuation of a very
useful article on post cards, to the repro-
duction of which we observe M. Mahe, in his
Gazette, strongly objects. This is followed

by the second part of Mr. Tiffany's article on
the Saint Louis stamps, reprinted from the
author's original manuscript, and to this
succeeds the usual article on the " Philatelic
Press," in which Dr. Magnus's monograph
on the reprinted Prussian envelopes and
stamps is carefully analysed.

The Stamp continues to fulfil the promise
of early intelligence held out by its opening
numbers. The issue for the 1st September,
is full of news, some items of which we have
tranf erred to oar own columns, but, though
it is a good sign for the prosperity of the
journal, we are sorry to see the advertise-
ments encroaching so much on the letter-
press as to leave no room for any other article
besides that on "New Issues." The " General
News," the "Reviews," &c, in the first
numbers, were interesting reading, and it
would be well if space could be found in each
impression for these articles. The number
for the 15th September is not yet to hand
(29th). Surely our contemporary is not
falling into the foreign defect of unpunc-
tuality.

The Stamp -Culled or' s Chronicle. — The June
number of this quarterly publication has
only just reached us ! Now, a quarterly
publication published only once every six
months is an hibernicism which we should
think its conductors could manage to avoid.
The contents of this second number are very
readable, and the typographical arrange-
ments leave really nothing to be desired.
The opening article treats of Confederate
locals, and the writer expresses himself very
dubious as to the value of the Fredericks-
burg stamps, which were discovered by Dr.
Petrie, and respecting which Miss Thom,
daughter of the postmaster by whom they
are supposed to have been issued, wrote so
precisely. " To Young Collectors " is the
title of a pithy chapter of advice addressed
by Mr. L. W. Durbin to beginners. The fol-
lowing recommendations are well worth tran-
scribing : — ■

Do not send your orders to those who advertise rare
stamps at a few cents per set. When you receive a letter
or circular from anyone offering the set of Pacific Steam
Navigation Co. stamps for 15 cents, a set of New Granada
for ten cents, &c, put a black mark opposite the name
of that party ; for he is offering you forgeries, and
you ought not to buy them, for you thus encourage
dishonest}'.

152

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

There is a mistake that young collectors (and some old
ones too) make. They refuse to purchase unused stamps
for fear they are counterfeits. J.Jnt they should know
that nine-tenths of all the forged stamps sold are can-
celled to give them a genuine appearance.

" Some Post-office Rules " are very amus-
ing, and contains some good hints to
meddlers and busy-bodies. The article
headed " Onr Black List " tells its own tale ;
the firm of Sidney Simpson & Co. therein
obtains additional but unenviable notoriety.
The list of new emissions has a comical
heading, which must be the result of a
typographical blunder — "New and prescribed
Issues, Novelties," &c. However, the infor-
mation it contains is none the less useful.
Among other odd items, we find a reference
to a provisional three-halfpenny New Bruns-
wick, of which we fancy we hive heard
before. It is simply one half of the lozenge
shaped threepence, divided so as to form a
triangle, and bearing the numerals " If,"
surcharged in brick-red. The threepenny
stamp was sold to the public entire, with the
above figures struck on each half, the
purchasers being left to effect the separation
of the two as required. The remainder of
the number is occupied with the article en-
titled " Our Review " and sundry minor
papers.

The American Journal of Philately. — The
principal article in the double number for
the 1st and 15th August, is an instalment of
"A Collector's Notes on the Stamps of New
Granada," — a really valuable addition to
philatelic lore, to which we have already
alluded, and which we trust to have the
pleasure of reviewing when complete.
" Stamps on blued Paper "is a reprint
(acknowledged) from the Philatelist. From
the chronicle on newly-issued stamps we
have gleaned some interesting intelligence,
which is duly noted in its proper place.

La Posta Mondiale. — The second number of
this journal is before us. Its contents are
composed in part of a description of newly-
issued stamps, and in part of a reference to
the Italian municipal issues. We cannot
find any specially noteworthy or quotable
piece of informatian in the number.

NEWLY-ISSUED OR INEDITED
STAMPS.

Heligoland. — The two promised novelties,
the j sch. and If sch., have made their ap-
pearance. The design is in all its leading
points the same as that of the previously
issued stamps; in both, however, the orna-
ments in the spandrels are suppressed. In
the lower value the Queen's profile is on a
green oval disk, and the frame is in carmine;
whilst in the higher the order is reversed,
the profile being on a carmine disk, and the
frame of a delicate green ; in both instances
the inscriptions are in white letters. The
carmine disk of the If, it should be observed,
is roughly struck, the colour encroaching on
the embossed profile, and giving it a ragged
outline.

Pahlunpooe. — In quoting last month from
The Stamp the report of an emission for this
state, we were careful to leave the responsi-
bility for the intelligence with our con-
temporary, and—our circum-
spection in the matter has
been fully justified by the
event. The stamps them-
selves, in a marvellously
short time after the putting
forth of the first feeler, have
made their appearance, and
we must say that their looks
do not incline us to put much confidence in
them. We append an engraving of the type,
which does it more than justice. The origi-
nals are printed, with calculated roughness,
in pale Indian ink on cream-laid note, and it
is stated that the set is composed of seven
values. Of course there is nothing to pre-
vent the rajah of any outlandish Indian state
issuing stamps, and having' them printed
on English note paper ; but unless, and until,
properly authenticated, proofs are forthcoming,
we shall refuse to believe that the rah-
lunpoor stamps are other than essays on
credulity, and we strongly advise all our
readers in the meanwhile to have nothing to
do with them.

Denmark and Danish Possessions. — A new
monetary system has just been adopted in
Scandinavia, as the result of a conference
held bv the savants of the north. The

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

153

run-n.r*-r"

future currency will be in marks and ore,
and it is intended to issue fresli series of
stamps for Denmark and her dependencies,
with the values expressed in the new denom-
inations.

Russian Locals. — For first intelligence of
the following new issues we are exclusively
indebted to our Belgian contemporary.

Onjueiff (Territory of Bessarabia.) — The
annexed design hails from a district which
now joins the stamp-
issuing ranks, and, as will
be noticed, is of an un-
usually ornate character.
The tree and scythe are
presumably the armorial
bearings of the district,
and may be intended to
typify its fertility. The
signification of the bull's
head, which figures in the lower margin, must,
perhaps, be sought in the geographical posi-
tion of the district. It is situated between
Moklo-Wal]achia,the Pruth,the Dnieper, and
the Black Sea. It has only formed part of
Bussia since 1812, when it was ceded by the
treaty of Bucharest, and we shall probably
not be far out in conjecturing that the bull's
head, which it will be remembered foi'med
part of the arms of Moldo-Wallackia, is in
one way or another a souvenir of the former
connection of the district with the Danubian
Principalities. The oval inscription signifies
kokal post of OKGUEiFF, and the value in
words appears in the scrolls beneath. There
are two stamps, printed in black on glazed
paper, covered with a coloured pattern, and
perforated 13.

3 kop. black and flesh.
6 „ black and green.

Werchnie - Dnieproffsh (Ekaterinoslav.) —
The type described four months ago, and
said to have been issued
so long since as 1866,
has just been with-
drawn in favour of the
annexed lithographed
design, of which the
multiplication is per-
haps easier and less costly. The new stamp
is not a whit prettier than its predecessor,
but it has, at any rate, the advantage of being

struck in blue, instead of in black, and with
this faint praise we take our leave of it.

Atharslt (Saratoff.) — In our original list
of locals this district figures under the name
of Atkar, and we have since
seen it stated that the name
should be written Atkarsk ;
which is the correct or-
thography remains to be
proved. The stamp de-
scribed in our list (arms
surmounted by crown in
rectangle, no value in-
dicated) has not yet come to light, but
another design has been discovered, which is
here illustrated. The curious trio of fishes
in the upper half of the shield reminds one of
the Belnzersk stamp, whilst the three birds
are evidently near relations of those which
figure on the Fatejh and Livni emissions.
The new comer makes its appearance in plain
black on white.

Novgorod (Novgorod.) — We learn from
The Stump that stamps fivm a new die are
in circulation.

Maloarchangelsk (Orel.) — The same paper
states that a label for this locality has
made its appearance. Is it the one described
in our list, or a new type ?

Kotehiitsch (Viatka.) — The stamps for this
district are stated to have been withdrawn
on the 31st December last.

Teh em (Tula.) — The 3 kop., recently
described and illustrated, now comes over
handstruck in black on horizontally laid
white paper.

Mariopol (Ekaterinoslav.) — The design'
figured in our July number has already been
superseded by a similar type. The arms
are on a vertically-lined ground, the Roman
figure 5 is enclosed in a double frame
inscribed on all four sides, the ground is
covered with a fine pattern, and the corner
figures are in white on colour. The im-
pression is in black on white wove paper.

Gharkoff (Charkoff.)— The latest arrivals
of the 5 kopecs are found to be printed
carmine.

Fatejh (Koursk.) — A variety of the en-
velope has been received by M. Moens with
the stamp printed in brick-red, instead of
vermilion.

154

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

011 %

J] lb HA g

3k fej

Schatsk (Tamboff.) — The stamp described
i:i 1871 has just deigned to make its
appearance. Were we igno-
rant of its name, the arms
<^vtx a^fy alone would suffice to in-
dicate from what govern-
ment it com es, for they closely
resemble those of the Tam-
boff district, except in that
the crossed sheaves of corn,
which figure on the Schatsk
stamp and strengthen the
symbolism of the device, are
wanting on the Tamboff. The inscription
signifies schatsk district rural court stamp,
PRICE 3 kop. In like manner, the words
RURAL COURT appear on the Tamboff emis-
sions, and it may be remarked, enpassant, that
in some other governments the word COURT,
instead of post, is employed. The Schatsk
stamp is struck in black on white.

Servia.- — This country has not been long
in following the lead of Roumania in the
issue of post cards. It has
started with a 10 paras
green, bearing a stamp of
the annexed type, which is
an evident copy of the
Belgian 10 centime ad-
hesive. There is also a
reply- paid card, the two
halves of which are mere reproductions of
the ordinary card. In the centre, near the
upper edge of these cards, are the Servian
arms. The whole is enclosed in a border
similar to that on the English post cards,
whence it would seem that the Servian
authorities have been intent on bringing out
a post card of the composite order.

Victoria. — From this colony we have re-
ceived a specimen of a provisional halfpenny
stamp recently issued, and
formed from the current
penny green, with the sur-
charge figured in annexed di-
agram ; the fractions are on
either side of the profile, and
the word half crosses* the
neck, so that in conjunction
with the marginal inscription it reads thus :
half ONE penny. The idea is an original
one, and certainly leads to an economy of

HALF

letter-press. Had, however, the word "half-
penny," in its entirety, been printed across
the stamp, we cannot think the expense
would have been much greater. The sur-
charge is struck in carmine. The stamps on
which it appears bear the v. and crown
watermark.

United States. — "We have had the op-
portunity of examining a number of the new
departmental stamps, and
have been somewhat dis-
appointed in the designs.
They are handsome and
effective enough ; indeed,
they could hardly fail of
being so, seeing that the
admirable medallions of
the ordinary series figure
on them, and the colours
are precisely those used in that series ; but
beyond the mere inscription there is no-
thing which specially identifies the stamps
with the departments to which they belong.
It would have been easy to embellish each
series with appropriate symbols : thus, on
the war stamps, the medallions might, have
had a trophy of arms for a background ;
whilst those for the agricultural department
might have borne a representation of some of
the leading implements ; the navy stamps,
instead of the bell-pull, which figures also on
other sets, might at least have been provided

with an anchor, and so on. However, we
must be content with the stamps as they are,
though it must be admitted that, taken
altogether, they are rather fatiguing from
the monotonous repetition of the same types
in a dozen different sets ; and for the sake of
the relief they afford we are prepared to vote
the post-office set the handsomest. We
append engravings of three of the designs
(Post-office, Treasury, and Interior), that our

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

155

readers may be able to make themselves ac-
quainted "with the style.

The A. J. P. states that the printing of
the adhesive stamps for the United States
has been transferred from the National to
the Continental Bank Note Company — the
company by which the new 300 reis Brazil
was prepared. The difference, adds our
contemporary, is easily noticed without the
aid of the imprint, the colours being paler
than heretofore, and of a slightly washy
appearance.

Canada. — Arrangements have been con-
cluded between the United States and the
Dominion for the carriage of post cards be-
tween the two countries at the rate of two
cents each. Special international cards will
have to be prepared by both the contracting
parties, and, according to The Stamp-Collec-
tor's Chronicle, the effigy on the Canadian 2 c.
card is likely to be that of the late Sir George
E. Cartier. The same paper states that a
registered letter stamp for Canada is being
discussed among the postal officials, and it
further adds that

Prince Edward Island joined the Dominion
on the 1st of July last ; its stamps conse-
quently "fall out."

Spain. — One of our most valued corres-
pondents calls us strictly to account for
too readily placing faith in the Don Carlos
stamp, of which we gave an engraving last
month. The specimen whence our illustra-
tion was taken was communicated to M.
Moens by M. A. d'Arlot de Saint Saud, who
had received it from a Carlist officer, and our
Belgian confrere appeared to have full con-
fidence in it. But now we find in the
resuscitated Gazette des Timbres the following
perplexing paragraph : —

" One of our subscribers, an inhabitant
of a French to wnin which some Carlist officers
are detained, has received from one of them
a stamp with ef&gy of Don Carlos, and after
showing him the type wdiich wre repro-
duce [the design represented in our last],
he declared that the one wras as different
from the other as night from day." Fur-
thermore the correspondent above referred
to, • a gentleman whose knowledge of Spain
permits him to speak with a certain author-
ity, argues that the value is too high ; there

would have been more in favour of the stamp
had its denomination been 4 cuartos or 10
centesimos ; he also does not believe that Don
Carlos has acquired sufficient footing in the
country to establish a postal service. In
presence of these conflicting reports and
opinions, as difficult to reconcile as are the
Carlist and Republican telegrams from Spain,
we must suspend judgment until we are in
possession of more positive data.

Our correspondent does not believe that
the 40 c. blue (Amadeus), is anything more
than a proof, and he is almost equally
doubtful as to the 25 c. lilac.

Philippines. — The same friend questions
the value of the recently chronicled 62 c.
rose, and 12 c. blue for these islands. He
believes that no used copies have been seen.

Argentine Republic. — The current num-
ber of The American Journal of Philately con-
tains engravings of the three new values
which a short time since were reported to be
" in the press." The 80 (treinta) centavos,
printed in orange, bears the three-quarter
face to right of Gen. Carlos de Alvear ; the
60 (sesenta) centavos black, the three-quarter
face to right of Don Gervasio Antonio cle
Posadas; and 00 (noventa) centavos blue, a
full-face portrait of General Don Cornelio
Saavedra. These portraits — which, as far as
we can judge from the engravings, appear to
be very effective — are all set in ovals, with
name above and value below, and numerals
of value in upper corners. The government,
it is stated by the same journal, is preparing
a book giving the postal laws of the country,
which will be illustrated with wood engra-
vings of the stamps.

Antioquia. — A new 5 c. stamp is stated by
Le Timbre-Poste, on the authority of M.
Roussin, to have been issued. The type is
similar to that of 1869, but having been re-
drawn it differs from the old in that —

The figures are shaded, instead of solid.

The design is lacking above and below the
upper and lowrer figures.

The stars are smaller.

The eagle holds a scroll in its beak.
These are the principal variations, but
there are a number of minor ones. The
colour remains the same, 5 centavos green.
The 10 c. is now reddish-lilac.

156

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Italy.— This time there appears to be no
reason to doubt that post cards are about to
be issued for Italy. According to Le Timbre-
Tost e a contract has been passed with a Turin
firm for the supply of the cards necessary
for the emission, which is fixed for New
Year's Day next. The cards are to be of two
colours, yellow and rose ; the yellow will be
the ordinary card, the rose will be the double
ones, with one half for the prepaid reply.

Dominica. — According to The Stamp a
rumour is current in Dominica that stamps
are to be issued there.

Great Britain. — The shilling green ad-
hesive has been issued with the corner letters
on white ground.

Curacoa. — It is only since the 1st June
that these stamps have been in use.

POSTAL RATES IN CHILI.

1SY l'ULANO.

The Chilian government has just laid before
congress a bill which, if passed, will ensure
very important changes in the present postal
tariff. This bill, as will be seen further on,
while it benefits the majority on one side,
adds to the burden of the minority (foreign-
ers) on the other.

To the tariff of 1851 additions have been
mxde from time to time, without, it seems,
the slightest regard being paid to what went
before ; so that, as it stands at present it is a
very curious arrangement. The following
are examples, the lines of steamers mention-
ed being the "Pacific Steam Navigation Co."
and the " Ca' Sud Americana de Vapores."

P. S. N. C. — 5 oz. to any place in Chili, north of Valpa-
raiso, 15 c.
C. S. A. de V.-}oz. ditto, 10 c.

P. S. N. C. — j oz. to any place in Chili, south of Valpa-
raiso, 20 c.

C. S. A. de V— | oz. ditto 15 c.

% oz. to Bolivia and Peru, as far as Callao, 10 c.
J oz. North of Callao, as far as Panama, 20 c.

Thus it will be seen that the postage to
Peru is 5 c. less (the letter being subject to
no farther charge) than to a place in Chili.

As a remedy for these odiosas diferencias
the following is proposed.

Art. 1.— On letters, manuscripts; &c, sent by steamer,
whether Chilian or Foreign, to any place in the Republic.
9 grammes (about ' oz.) 10 c, &c.

Art. 5.— On letters by steamer to any place in South and
Central America, Mexico, United States, and West Indies.
9 grammes (about 5 oz.) 15 c, &c.

So far so good, the proposed rates are
lower than those now paid. But now we
have the reverse.

Art. 8. — On letters to Europe, Russian and British
America, Greenland (!), Africa, Asia, and Australia.
9 grammes 25 c., &c.

Up to the present, letters for Europe, &c,
posted at the local offices, have been exempted
from the payment of postage ; and at the
British and French Post Office Agencies the
prepayment is optional. Under the new ar-
rangement letters would, in every case, have
to be prepaid.

There would be no great reason to complain
of the rate, if we had not to pay the corres-
ponding English postage as well ; as the
Chilian as well as the British government
pay the P. S. N. Co., both have the same
right to charge what they think fit. The
postage of a ^ oz. letter, via Panama, would,
therefore, be : Chilian, 50 c. and English
45 c.=95 c, which is too much. I suppose
that, should the bill in question become law,
the British Post Office Agency would cease
to exist, unless paid letters should have
first to be taken there and then to the post-
office.

Art. 9. — Letters from abroad (Europe, &c.) shall pay
postage according to the rate mentioned in Art. 8.

This charge on inward letters is an old
grievance, and one which foreigners take
some time to digest. At present it is 15 c.
per j oz.

Under the new arrangement the recipient
of a j oz. letter would, therefore, have to pay
50 c, and his answer would cost 95 c. (inclu-
ding English postage), in all about 5/6,
against 1/6 paid by the sender in England.

It will, therefore, be seen that, under this
arrangement, the gainers, generally, would
be the natives. One would be inclined to
think the government lost by the post-office,
that they could not afford to lower the post-
age in one case without raising it in another.
And yet it is not so. Last year's net income
was .$40,000. A mode of increasing this
would be by charging postage on newspapers,
which are carried gratis now.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

157

THE STAMPS OF PORTUGAL.

BY THE REV. R. B. EAREE.

Supplementary Article.
Through the kindness of Senor A. Gomez, of
Lisbon, I am enabled to offer to my readers
a few more facts concerning' the Portuguese
stamps, which may, I think, be of general
interest. I commented in my first article
upon the great number of 25 reis stamps of
Donna Maria to be met with, compared with
the scarcity of the other values ; and this
arises from the fact that the postage of an
ordinary letter, to any part of the kingdom
from any other part, was then (and is now)
25 reis. The 5 reis stamp was used for
newspapers, &c, — 5 reis for every sheet of
printed matter. In the twenty years which
have elapsed since 1853 literature has made
great progress ; and I need scarcely remind
my readers that in the time of Donna Maria
comparatively few newspapers passed through
the post. This, then, will account for the
rarity of the 5 reis. None of the Portu-
guese stamps have ever been officially de-
clared obsolete ; so that to this present day
any stamps, whether of Donna Maria, Don
Pedro, or Don Luiz, would serve to frank
a letter through the post. This is rather
strange, considering how very well the
Donna Maria stamps have been reprinted,
because it must be remembered that the old
issues (though still current, if any private in-
dividual happen to possess a stock of them)
are no longer officially sold. With regard
to the printing of the stamps, there are three
machines at the government printing estab-
lishment— two for the 25 reis, and one for
the stamps of all the other values. One of
the 25 reis machines is always at work, and
if anything happens to either of them, the
other is immediately put into action, so that
there may be no stoppage. The number of
offices in 1853 which were empowered to
obliterate stamps was 219 ; each of these
offices had, as I have before described, an
obliteration stamp bearing the number of
the office. The first of these (No. 1) was,
and is, Lisbon, and the last (No. 219), Villa
Real de Santo Antonio. The stamps of the
current series were engraved by Campos, a
Portuguese engraver. This artist has fol-

lowed pretty closely the design of the former
type engraved by C. Wiener, of Belgium, and
has succeeded better ; for I am told that the
current stamps bear a very faithful repre-
sentation of his present majesty, Don Luiz ;
whereas the effigy designed by Wiener doas
not bear the remotest resemblance to him.
This may possibly be the reason why the
new stamps were issued. The current
stamps are all printed in sheets of 28 ; but
from 1853 until the first issue of Don Luiz
they were all in sheets of 24 only. The 240
reis of the present type has at last put in
an appearance, and has now been in use for
about six weeks.

I owe an apology to my readers for the
very disconnected and fragmentary style of
this article, but it must be remembered that
all these facts reached me after the articles
bearing upon the subject had appeared in
print, and were, consequently, too late for
insertion in their proper place. It is
generally the fate of those who aspire to
philatelic honours, that they have to write
their articles first, and then receive the best
part of their information ; and I think they
may esteem themselves fortunate if the in-
formation comes in friendly private letters
(as in my case), instead of in hostile public
criticisms.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

BY AMATEUR.

New Granada. — Recently there has come
under the writer's notice a fine postmarked
copy of tbe 5 centavos lilac, issue 1859, large
figures, on laid paper. The example in
question is on paper laid with the lines hori-
zontally placed, and was affixed to the
original letter by the side of a ten centavos
yellow-brown, of the same issue, on wove
paper ; the large postmark Bogota, in an oval
frame, obliterated both stamps at one im-
pression. The genuine nature of the edition
on laid paper has been doubted by some, de-
nied by others, no other stamp of the country
bsing printed on laid paper ; but the writer
has never seen reason to question the authen-
ticity of this 5 centavos. This is the second
instance of a postmarked copy coming to his
notice from an indubitable source, and is

158

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

chronicled in the hope of helping to set at
rest a moot point.

Spain. — The stamps officially issued for the
use of the chamber of deputies amount to a
large number, some of them being scarce.

In 1872 two stamps — one blue, the other
black — of similar design were issued ; shield
and arms surmounted by a crown, and sup-
ported by laurels, with labels above and
below ; the lower in both inscribed el
DIEECTOB ORAL; the upper, CORREOS Y TELE-
GRAFOS, stamp printed in blue ; and communi-
CACIONES, stamp printed in black ; while in
the centre, on a scutcheon of pretence, is the
cross of Savoy. On lately scrutinising a
copy before mounting, it was found to be
on thick, gilt-edged, wove, writing paper.
The only parallel case is in Guadalajara,
1867 ; 4 reales, on a bluish paper; quadrille.
Probably the specimens now sold were
struck for the sake of complaisance ; the im-
pressions which cleared the post being hand-
struck on the letter or packet after it was
received by the post official at chamber
or senate house.

M. Moens, in his catalogue, 4th edition,
p. 41, No. 15, records — " 1851. 2 reales
bleu, errcur d'impression." The normal
colour of this stamp is orange. This op-
position of colours precludes the idea of
chemical or other change, and as the only
blue stamp in the series is the 6 reales, the
most likely idea is that a die of the 2 reales
got set up by accident in a sheet of the
6 reales. This particular error has not come
under the writer's personal notice, but in the
collection of M. Herpin, of Paris, was a copy
of the 6 cuartos, 1857, printed in a lovely
azure blue, as a trial of colour ; and possibly
M. Moens' original may have so originated.
The paper tells its story, being a fine plate
paper, and very distinct from that used for
the series of stamps as issued.

REVIEWS of POSTAL PUBLICATIONS.

Ilistoire de la Paste aux Lettres, depuis
ses origines les plus ancieunes justiu? a nos
jours. Par Arthur de Rothschild. Paris.
8vo. 1873.

The author of the work before us is not un-
known in the world of philatelists. Pos-

sessed of one of the finest collections of
stamps and envelopes extant, and recognised
as one of the leading and most energetic col-
lectors in Paris, Baron Arthur de Rothschild
has from time to time contributed papers on
subjects of philatelic interest to the jour-
nals— chiefly, we believe, to Le Timbre-Poste — ■
and in 1871 published a brochure on the in-
troduction of the postage stamp in England,
followed, in 1872, by a pamphlet on " Penny
Postage," in which he first described the
various proposals submitted to the Treasury
in 1840, and especially that of Samuel
Forrester, an officer in the Excise.

The present occasion is the subject of a
work of larger dimensions, and much more
extended aim, though the author modestly
disclaims any intention of being more than a
faithful chronicler of facts.

We will briefly recount the contents of his
book. After denning the word Post, he pro-
ceeds to disclose the result of his researches
into ancient literature, so far as they bear on
the subject ; and thus he treats of the Post
among the Eastern nations of old, follows it
first tln-ough Greece, and then the republican
days of Rome, and concludes what may be
termed the ancient period by its history
under the Cresars and the later Empire.

Succeeding chapters deal with the Middle
Ages, the creation of maitres de poste in
France, the ordannances of the kings prior to
Henri IV., and through a multitude of
events trace the history of the office down to
its constitution under Louvois, in the times
of Louis XIV. Passing rapidly by the Re-
gency, Louis Seize, the Revolution, the Em-
pire, and the Restoration, our author brings
down the story of the French post-office till
the eve of the great postal reforms in
England, and the invention of the postage
stamp. He then, leaving France, diverges,
and devotes a chapter to postal affairs among
other nations, and surveys their establish-
ments, dwelling particularly — with much
curious and novel information — on that of
Tour and Taxis, so recently suppressed.

Having thus disposed of the older period,
the reform initiated in England by Sir
Rowland Hill is next treated of, and a well-
merited tribute is paid to his enlightened
and far-seeing: views, that about the reign

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

159

of Charles II. Francois Velayer had con-
ceived the idea of a postal billet or ticket,
marked franco, to denote post paid, is held
not to disentitle Sir Rowland Hill to the fall
credit of being the originator of the present
system.

After considering onr postal reform, its
i-esults and probable future, the author turns
to that originated in Prance, and the adop-
tion of postage stamps there. He then
gives an entire chapter to the organization of
the post-office among our neighbours, with
many details of the service ; a chapter on the
methods of manufacture of postage stamps
follows ; while one on post cards finishes the
work.

Having thus given a brief but incomplete
summary of the contents of the book, there
remains to us to speak of the execution by
the author of his self-imposed task.

In the preparation of his materials,
the Baron has shown unwearied diligence,
combined with great research. From Holy
Writ itself, and the pages of the father of
history (Herodotus), to the most recent
articles in the philatelic press, the whole
range of literature, classic and modern,
appears to have been laid under contribu-
tion, and the result has been the collection
of a series of authorities which we venture to
affirm will lighten the task of all future his-
torians, and render this work the repertory
of all authorities for time to come.

The only objection we feel disposed to
take is, that the author gives much greater
credit to his readers for extensive acqrraint-
ance with the authorities referred to than
the reading of most — -even well educated — ■
men coiild boast ; but in these days of book
making we are loth to find a fault in that
which so honourably distinguishes this
work.

The limits of our space, as well as the
design of our magazine, prevent . us from
entering into anything like a critical analysis,
and we the more readily refrain as the author
adheres to his pledge, and contents himself
with recording facts rather than advancing
theories. What is thought in Paris of the
work may be judged from the highly laud-
atory and lengthened critique which has
recently appeared in the Journal des Debats.

Suffice it, therefore, for us to say that since
stamp-collecting has been a recognised pur-
suit no such serious contribution to its lite-
rature has appeared, and those who at times
share the reproach of the pursuit may feel
that a "work like the present redeems its
votaries from all just cause of exception.
From all true collectors thanks are due to
Baron Rothschild ; while the concluding
lines of the book, in which an international
foreign postage, at cheap rates, is advocated,
are marked with the spirit of enlightenment
which has rendered his family name so
honoured in Europe, and show that the
attentive study of the science tends to enlarge
the views and encourage the development
of those broader principles which have ren-
dered the British postal service at once the
admiration and model of the civilized world.

We ought to add that the book is printed
in clear type, on excellent paper, and is a
pattern of a substantial, plain, well got up
work. Its price (3 francs) can hardly de-
fray the cost of production. We hear the
first edition is already exhausted, and that a
second may shortly be expected to appear.

OBITUARY.

The death of a gentleman who in his day
did much to advance the interests of phi-
lately— Monsieur Justin H. Lallier — is an-
nounced in the current number of the
Gazette des Timbres. We are sure the news
will be received by all our readers with sin-
cere regret. M. Lallier's principal work was
the album which bears his name. In later
years its value to collectors of postage
stamps has been impaired by the inclusion
within its pages of space for a number of
fiscal stamps ; bu.t the early editions were
an unqualified boon to collectors, for they
first rendered possible a scientific arrange-
ment of the various emissions. M. Lallier,
at his decease, was in his fiftieth year.

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

The Introduction of the Post into Japan dates
back but a very few years indeed, yet 2,500,000 letters
were already carried by the native post last year.

The Postal-card Manufacture at Springfield,
Mass., are now shipping 700,000 and 800,000 cards daily,
and will soon increase the number to 1,000,000. The es-

100

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZIXE.

timate of the Postmaster-General was that 103,000,000
postal-cards would be purchased this year. Up to this
time — less than three months since they were issued

-over 50,0 )0,000 have been ordered, and the probabilities
are that the consumption this year will be double the
estimate.

Ocean Tost Cards. — The negotiations which were
being carried on between our government and that of the
United States for the issue of threehalfpenny post cards,
to which we alluded in a recent number, have, according
to The Times Philadelphia correspondent, suddenly failed.
The British postal authorities decline the proposition,
which originated on the American side, on the ground
that they do not wish to reduce the postage below the
present rate of threepence per half ounce. We accept
this intelligence with much reserve.

CORRESPONDENCE.

A HOME-MADE PERMANENT ALBUM.
To the Editor o/"Tm; Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — In continuation of the letter you kindly
inserted in your June number, I proceed further to describe
my album.

I may as well state, to commence with, that I am a
follower of the so-called English school of Philately ; not
a bigoted one, but simply because I cannot afford to make
anything like a perfect collection on what I acknowledge
to be the more scientific principles, and have at the same
time a laudable ambition to make one which shall be
perfect, as far as possible, of its kind ; the arrangements
I am about to describe are only suitable to collections of a
similar nature to my own ; the pages I describe .1 in my
last letter, may of course be used for a collection of any
description.

My arrangement is somewhat similar to that adopted
by Lallier and other makers of albums, in which a ruled
space, more or less appropriate in size and shape, is
allotted to each stamp; but my great object has been to
improve the appearance of my pages, by making the
spaces considerably larger than the stamps which are to
occupy them, and I think I need hardly assure you that the
improvement is immense ; I give to each stamp of ordi-
nary sire, such as the English and French, a space of 1 1 -9th
inch wide, and 1 3- 10th inch deep ; this allows of three
rows of eight spaces each, as the utmost that can be
placed on each page, leaving ^ inch at the top and bottom,
inside the margin line, and half the width of one of the
spaces at the sides and between the rows. For larger
stamps, I of course make larger spaces, and only two rows
on each page.

I have attempted nothing in the way of elaborate
ornamentation, as I do not consider that anything more
ornamental than the stamps is required. I simply rule the
lines in Indian ink, and print the name of the country in
block letters at the upper left- hand corner, and the date
of each issue immediately above the spaces for it.

I secure each stamp in its place with a small hinge of
thin paper ; postcards and whole envelopes I secure in a
similar manner, attaching the hinges to the latter at the
edge furthest from the stamp, and placing them on the
page in such a manner that they may lap over one
another, and only show the stamp, and so much of the
envelope as is necessary, the hinges allowing of their
being turned up for the inspection of the flap ornaments,
&c.

With regard to the arrangement of the issues of par-
ticular countries, I do not think that I have any very
original suggestions to offer, except that I have placed

those of Germany and of Austria and Austrian Italy in
two rows on each page, placing in the former case the
silber groschen above the corresponding kreuzer series,
and in the latter, the kreuzer issues above the cones-
ponding centesimi and soldi, calling them simply Germany
and Austria, believing the division into North and South
Germany to be somewhat arbitrary, and that the soldi
issues were not employed exclusively in Austrian Italy.

With many apologies for troubling you again with so
long a letter,

I remain, vours trulv,

Norwich. ' CHETH.

THE CHILIAN ENVELOPES.
To the Editor of1' The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — The 23 c. envelope has at length put in an
appearance, and, as you will see by the specimen I have
the pleasure to enclose, is of a rather unwieldy size,
which is the only one in which it is to be issued.* Of the
10 o. and 15 c. there will be no varieties of size ; of the 5 e.
the two already in use; while of the 2 c. there will be
three, two corresponding to those of the 5 c , and the
third the smallest of the series. The last-mentioned en-
velope has not yet been issued, but its appearance cannot
be delayed very much longer.

All the 15 c. and 20 c which 1 have seen are on white
paper, which leads me to believe that the delicacy of the
colours will not permit of their being stamped on tinted
paper. When it was announced that all the values w«re
to be printed on three kinds of paper, it had been decided
to entrust the making to the American Bank Note Com-
pany, and to have them stamped in ihs colours of the
corresponding adhesives, which are the reverse of delicate.

1 forgot to state above that the 20 e. was issued at the
beginning of this month.

I remain, dear Sir,

Yours very truly,
Valparaiso. L. W. MEYER.

* [The 20 c. Chilian envelope received measures 7|
inches by 4 inches. — Ed.]

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

J. S. Pkaiiuan, Victoria. — We are much obliged for the
specimen of the halfpenny Victorian stamp, the only one
we have yet seen. It is described in the present number.

W. S. G., Manchester. — Many thanks for communica-
tion of the stamp and post card issued by the private
Berlin office, and described from your specimens in our '
last.

E. P., St. Petersburg. — We are glad to find the article
published in these pages on the Russian locals meets your
approval, and shall look forward with pleasure to receiv.-
ing the statistics you so kindly promise.

Perplexity. — The three transverse bars by which
numbers of Spanish stamps are obliterated, are not a post-
mark properly so called, seeing that the stamps on
which they figure were never used on letters. They
are the remnants of unused stock, and to prevent their
being fraudulently employed, they are cancelled in sheets
by means of these bars.

Ma. Frank A. Gray, Philadelphia. — Our publishers
have no copies of the 18th edition of their Price Catalogue
on hand.— Some of the numbers of '1 he Stamp-Collector' s
Magazine are out of print, but most of them can be ob-
tained at 5d. each, post free. The prepared covers will
hold twelve numbers including advertisement sheets.

THE 'STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

161

SPANISH PHILATELICO-LEGAL
CHRONOLOGY.

BY DON M. P. DE FIGUEUOA.

(Continued from page 101.^

1854

1st September. — That the stamps for the
internal correspondence of the towns shall be
sold at two cuartus ; those for letters, cir-
culating throughout the kingdom, at four
cuartos ; and for double-weight letters, at
eight ; * those for the Antilles, at one real ;
and those for the Philippines, at two reales.
That the currency of the new stamps for
Spain shall commence on the 1st November
(1854) ; of those for the Antilles, on the 1st
January ; and of those for the Philippines,
on the -1st April (1855).

(The statement made at p. 41 of M. Moens's
work, Les Timbres-Poste Piastres, to the effect
that the 2 c. of the issue of November, 1854,
was intended solely for service in Madrid, is
erroneous, for the decree clearly states that
it was to be employed in all the towns in
Spain for the district correspondence).

15//i December. — That the postage stamps
to be issued in the ensuing year (1855), shall
bear the bust of the Queen, and in order that
every care and precaution may be taken in
engraving the dies, to prevent forgery, the
issue shall not take place until the 1st
April.

18th Deceniber. — Concerning the convey-
ance and prepayment, by means of stamps, of
the correspondence between the Spanish
Colonies and the metropolis.

1855.

8th March. — That on and after the 1st
April the stamps with the bust of the Queen
will be used, and that the governors of pro-
vinces are charged to see that proper sup-
plies are distributed to the offices.

26th June. — Price of the colonial stamps,
and mode of prepaying the letters between
those parts and Spain.

28th September. — That the prepayment of
periodicals by means of postage stamps will
be permitted by the central administration.

* Although ordered by the decree, the eight cuarto
stamps were never issued [SI. P. de F.]

VOL. XI. No. 131.

2,8th December. — That whereas some of
the postage stamps are printed on bluish and
others on white paper, the stamps of both
classes may be accepted as genuine, provided
they answer the necessary conditions in all
other respects.

1856.

15th February. — That after the 1st July,
the prepayment by means of stamps of all
the public correspondence of the peninsula
and the adjacent isles will be obligatory.
That the postage of printed matter shall be
prepaid by means of postage stamps, and
that of periodicals by an impressed stamp ; *
the journals which do not bear it will be
stopped.

llth March. — A list is forwarded to the
civil governors of the authorities and func-
tionaries entitled to use the official stamps,
with a request that care be taken to supply
them with the said stamps.

13th March. — That the prepayment of pe-
riodicals by means of an impressed stamp,
shall be extended to those addressed to the
colonies.

4?th April. — Treats of forged stamps and
their employment notably on letters from
Seville, indicates the differences which exist
between them and the genuine stamps, one
of which is that the imitations change colour
when held before a fire.

llth April. — That stamps printed on con-
tinuous paper, and without any transparent
marks, may be accepted as genuine, provided
they fulfil the other conditions of authen-
ticity, and that advice must be given to the
governor of the province whenever a letter is
met with bearing a false or washed (qij.,
chemically-changed) stamp.

21st June. — That postage stamps may be
received in payment of the stamp duty on
periodicals.

26th June. — That when an unpaid letter
is observed bearing the words " have no
stamps," the postal administration shall
give notice of the fact to the director of the
finance department.

* That is to say a stamp struck on the journal itself.
For full details of the different types of impressed journal
stamps in use in Spain, the reader is referred to an article
by the present writer, published in the Madrid journal,
El jfLveriguador, of the loth Aug., 1871 [M. P.de F.]

It2

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S- MAGAZINE.

11th and 22nd August. — That the public
correspondence of antliori ties who are entitled
to use the official stamps, with others who
have not that privilege, shall be delivered to
the latter, subject to the obligation of re-
presenting the postage by means of ordinary
stamps, which shall be attached to the letter,
obliterated in the receiver's presence, and
kept by the department to serve as
vouchers.

6th September. — That when a letter is
observed to be prepaid with false or doubtful
stamp.-!, such as have been noticed on letters
from Eceja and Malaga, it shall be forwarded
under cover to the postmaster of the town
whence it was received, in order that he may
institute inquiries with a view to trace the
fraud.

27th October. — That no consideration shall
be shown towards employes who neglect to
take the measures prescribed by the decree
of the 16th March, 1854, for the detection of
I' >rged and used stamps.

28th November. — That pending the issue
of official stamps in the colonies, letters to the
authorities of the Peninsula shall be delivered
free, provided they are addressed " On Pub-
lic Service," and bear the stamp of the for-
warding official.

1857.

2nd January. — Refers to the newly dis-
covered, fraudulent practice of varnishing
stamps, in order to render more easy the
effacement of the obliterating marks, and
makes applicable to this pi'actice the provi-
sions of the decree of the 16th March, 1854.

17th March. — That the stamps which pay
the postage paid on letters returned from
abroad, must be stuck on the envelope (sic),
and obliterated with a pen-and-ink cross,
instead of with the usual handstamp.

I6//1 and 24th June. — That the correspond-
ence of senators and deputies shall circulate
free when it bears an impression from the
special stamp inscribed, Senado or Ginujreso
de l)s Diputados, and that letters addressed
to the said senators must be prepaid by the
senders.

12th July. — That many official letters are
forwarded which do not bear the official
stamps according to the regulation, therefore,
postal employes are warned to be strict in

enforcing the law, and not to allow the un-
stamped letters to circulate.

13th August. — Gives a description of the
differences between the genuine stamps* an 1
certain counterfeits discovered in Almeria,
in order that the vigilance of the postal
officials in detecting the frauds may be
redoubled.

14th September. — That the surplus stamps
in branch offices shall be obliterated by
means of a pen-and-ink cross.

CORRIGENDA.
Page 101. Decree of 8th Oct., 1853.
For " the stamps of that value will conse-
quently be issued," read " the 3 cuartos
stamps will consequently be sold at one
cuarto."

THE CITY DELIVERY POSTS OF
SAN FRANCISCO.

BY C. H. COSTER.

{Continued from page 70 .)

THE CALIFORNIAN PENNY POST CO.

A. (vide vol. x. page 140). — A third variety
has just appeared. It is of the value of 7 c,
on an extra large letter-size envelope. The
word FOR is replaced by cake of (in script).
No. and street are in ordinary script, instead
of backhand, and the sentence commencing
" The party," Ac, is omitted altogether.

E. — This was briefly noticed on page 67,
but the accompanying illustration renders
further comment unnecessary. On the re-
verse is printed the penny post COMPANY,
OFFICE, 135, CALIFORNIA ST., SAX FRANCISCO.
LETTERS ENCLOSED IN THE ENVELOPES OF THE
PENNY-POST COMPANY AND DEPOSITED IX ANY
POST-OFFICE, ARE DELIVERED IMMEDIATELY ON
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE MAILS IN SAN
FRANCISCO, SACRAMENTO, STOCKTOX, BENECIA,
MARYSVILLE, COLOMA, NEVADA, GRASS VALLEY,
MOKELUMNE HILL.

F. (also illustrated) is printed on an ordi-
nary buff envelope, prepaid by a 3 c. stamp
of the 1851 issue, and dated February 21.

N. B. — The electrotypes differ in many par-
ticulars from the original envelopes, but ai'e
sufficiently close to give a pretty fair approx-
imate idea.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

163

■a— a

I Iprnim postage faii), 7. 1

'0r._

#>•

Street,

©AIL,

The party ■whose name is on this Envelope is hereby authorized to open the same and appropriate its contents.

Postage mast be paid in advance, otherwise your Letter will not be forwarded.

Copy-Eight Secured.

BETTERS enclosed in these Envelopes, Papers,
and other mail matter, Small Parcels, Daguerreotypes,
fix., directed to the Agent of the Penny-Post Co. and de-
posited in ant Post Office, Trill be delivered imme-
diately on the distribution of the Mails, in San Fhan-
cisco, Sacbamento, Mabysville and Stockton, and
in these cities only for the present.

The writer requests the Post Master to deliver this to

Agent of the Penny-Post Co,

SAN FRANCIS

CO,

Box 5,005.

Tho P. P. Co. will please deliver to

S. W. COLLINS,

Front Street.

CAL

164

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

ON THE VARIOUS MODES
OF PRINTING POSTAGE STAMPS.

A PRIZE ESSAY.

By Dr. Magnus, Editor of La Gazette des Timbres.
This subject is one of the most important
which could possibly engage the attention of
stamp amateurs. From its careful study is
derived the means of gaining, in many in-
stances, a more perfect acquaintance with
stamps and the power of distinguishing
counterfeits, — those plagues to young col-
lactors. That it is the only means, we do not
pretend to say ; on the contrary, we willingly
recognise that the study of watermarks and
perforations will render no less important
services, as also the comparative analysis
of the details of the design. But very often
the mode of impression alone will suffice to
determine the rejection of a false stamp.
This point of view seems to us to have been
singularly n?glected by English amateurs.
We frequently admire the scrupulous care
which they take to describe every particular-
ity of the design which forms a test of gen-
uineness ; but they appear hardly to think of
the efficacy of that simple statement, — the
true stamp is typographed, the false is litho-
graphed. We may mention, for example,
the es^avs published in last year's Philatelist,
referring to the issues of Orange Free State,
Salvador, Sydney N.S.W., Costa Rica, Pacific
Steam Navigation Co., Straits Settlements,
Bolivia, and (more recently) Cuba and Nica-
ragua.

The excellence of this mode of distinguish-
ing the true stamp from its counterfeit, is
explained by the very raison d'etre of the
false stamps. When a stamp is issued for a
postal service, so large is the number printed
off, that the engraving expenses spread over
the whole, are reduced to next to nothing.
The forger, on the other hand, can only
count on a restricted number of amateurs.
Hence he finds himself obliged to employ a
less costly method than that of engraving in
tnille-dovce or ejiarr/ne.* Above all, he cannot
obtain the assistance of distinguished artists,
such as those employed by the governments,
whose self-respect would forbid their lower-

* The expatriation of these term sis given further on by
the author.— Ed,

ing themselves by contact with unworthy
counterfeits. It is, therefore, generally speak-
ing, on lithography that he falls back; anil
acquaintance with this fact may lead to the
rapid discovery of the fraud.

It is at this point of view that we place
ourselves in making the following examina-
tion ; and without dwelling on any other
considerations, we will enter at once on the
subject. In putting the question which
forms the object of this article, the editor of
The Philatelist certainly had not the intention
of requiring a minute description of the pro-
cessess employed in printing. We believe
we are thoroughly satisfying his desire in
explaining, as clearly as possible in their
principal features (1), the different kinds of
engraving ; (2) lithography ; (3) the impres-
sions which it is possible to obtain from the
plates ; and, lastly, the means of distinguish-
ing between the products of these methods.
That is the com-se we shall pursue.

The plate whence the impression is taken
may present itself under three different
aspects. The design of the stamp may appear
either sunken, or in relief, or on an entirely
level surface. To these three conditions of
the plate correspond three modes of printing ;
but it is indispensable that we should first
explain the preparation of the plate, in order
to make the system of printing comprehen-
sible.

In the first mentioned process, as we have
said, the design of the stamp appears sunken.
After having reproduced the details of the
design on a metallic plate, covered with a coat
of varnish, the lines are all cut into the
metal by means of a burin. Only the blank
portions remain untouched. Or else the
lines are cut in the varnish down to the sur-
face of the metal, the varnish in the lines is
removed, and an acid poured over the plate,
which fills the cuttings, and so bites into the
plate itself, as to produce thereon the corres-
ponding hollows. When the acid is con-
sidered to have acted sufficiently on the
metal, it is washed off, the plate is cleaned
with some spirit, and then the finer lines are
touched up with the burin. This mode of en-
graving is called laille.-dov.ee (copper-plate)
engraving. When it is desired to take an
impression from the plate, the ink is made

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

163

to penetrate into the sunken parts by means
of a pad ; and the plate is then carefully
wiped, so that no trace of the ink may remain
on the untouched portions. The sheet of
paper applied to the surface, and submitted
to a strong pressure, takes up the ink in the
furrows ; and when it is withdrawn, the de-
sign appears on it. But, and this a very
important circumstance to be immediately
noted, the cuttings in the plate seem to pro-
duce corresponding projections on the sur-
face of the paper. This is easily explained ;
those parts of the sheet covered by the design
have, by the pressure, been to some extent
driven into the indents on the plate to take
lip the ink.

Taille-donce engraving is practised on cop-
per and on steel. Printing from plates is
also called taille-douce printing. The old
"native" stamps of Mauritius, engraved by
Mr. Barnard; the 1853-4 Luzon, the Sydney
views, the laureated New South Wales
(rough stamps, on which it is most easy
to recognise the standing out of the ink),
afford philatelists the opportunity of tho-
roughly acquainting themselves with this
system of impression and its characteristics.
Among other better-engraved stamps, we
may mention the English penny and two-
penny, the first two emissions of Belgium
and Saxony, the Neapolitan, and Sicilian
stamps ; and, in general, the United States
stamps, and those of other American States,
which emanate from the ateliers of the Amer-
ican and the National Bank-Note companies,
respectively.

In the second process, the design appears
in relief. In this instance, the burin re-
moves all which is not design, that is to say,
the blanks. This is called eyargne engraving,
or cutting in relief ; thus named because the
parts which bear the design are epargnes
(preserved), and because they form the
relief. The roller, impregnated with print-
er's ink, leaves the ink on those portions of
the surface which are in relief. The sheet
of paper, applied to the plate and submitted
to the necessary pressure, is covered with
the details of the design ; but whilst in the
preceding process the design causes those
parts of the paper on which it is received to
project, in the present instance, the contrary

effect is produced : the printed portions pro-
duce an indent on the front or the surface of
the sheet, and a corresponding relief at the
back. More than this, when the pressure at
the back of the sheet is at all strong, the in-
termediate blank parts of the design (which
are cut into the plate) cause a slight bulg-
ing of the surface of the paper, which might
be taken for a faint embossment. This
may be perceived on the Swiss stamps
(Helvetia f nil-faced), and the stamps of Ba-
varia with numeral in centre. When, instead
of a design, the stamp is composed of an
assemblage of printing types, the result is
the same. Hence the name, typographic im-
pression. We may cite as examples, the
current stamps of Great Britain, and of the
greater portion of the Biitish Colonies on
glazed paper, emanating from Messrs. De
La Rue's manufactory; the Hawaiian stamps
with numeral in centre, those of France,
Spain, Modena, Parma, the Roman States,
Tuscany, Greece, Sweden, Denmark, and
many other countries ; for it is by means of
the typographic process that the majority of
the stamps now in circulation are obtained.
In the third method, the surface whence
the impression is taken is quite level. We
refer to the lithographic process. Everybody
knows that Aloys Senefelder was its inven-
tor. A particular calcareous stone, which is
almost peculiar to the neighbourhood of
Solenhofen, being obtained, and the side
which is to be used for printing being suffi-
ciently levelled and pounced, the design is
drawn with a pen dipped in a greasy ink, or
with a greasy pencil, and the operation is
terminated by the application to the entire
surface of a liquid composed of a solution of
gum, acidulated with hydrochloric or azotic
acid. The object of the acidulation is to
clean the stone, and fix the writing, or design,
by rendering the ink or other substance in-
soluble in water. By this means, these two
substances, combining with that of the stone,
render the latter insensible to the action of
the oily matter contained in the printing-ink.
The roller, full of ink, runs over the surface
of the stone, and adheres only on the lines
of the design or writing, the water, applied
to the surface by means of a sponge, pre-
venting the ink from penetrating at any

166

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

other point. It only remains to place the
sheet of paper and pass the stone under the
rack, or the compressing cylinder. The re-
sult of this system of printing will be a
design which causes no bulging of the sur-
face either in front or at the back, but, on
the contrary, gives the paper a glossy look.

Thus we have summarily indicated the
three modes of printing.

1. Taille douce.

2. Typographic, or epargne.

3. Lithographic.

It is unnecessary to remind the reader
that the operation may be effected either by
means of a hand-press or a steam-press, the
results not being affected by the machine
employed. Nothing seems easier, at first
sight, than to distinguish the products of the
different modes. Let us see what are the
difficulties which may render the distinction
exceedingly embarrassing.

Engraving in taille-douee is generally done
on copper or steel, but a lithographic stone
may be employed ; in which case, a coating
of lamp-black mixed with gum-water is ap-
plied ; and the design is cut through the
coating down to the stone, by means of a
steel point or a diamond. A pad charged
with a greasy ink, and passed across the
stone, does not affect the gummed parts ; but
the ink penetrates in the exposed portions,
and forms on its contact with the stone an
insoluble soap. The rest of the impression
is the same, but the first proofs will possess
the relief which characterises taille-douce im-
pressions,— a relief which will gradually
disappear with the wearing of the stone. As
an instance of this kind of printing we may
mention the 2d. Victoria (Queen on throne) ;
of which the first copies, coloured brown,
have quite the appearance of taille-douce im-
pressions ; whilst the later specimens, black-
ish or a violet tinge, show no trace of
the characteristic relief, but present a blur-
red ground, the design having been partly
effaced by long use of the plate.

Typographic printing is executed either
by the aid of a composition of printing types,
or by the aid of a plate engraved in relief.
In many cases wood-engraving suffices for
the service required. Woods of the closest
and finest grain are chosen, such as box or

pear. They are cut crosswise, that is to say,
in the contrary direction to that of the fibres,
so as to prevent their catching under the
action of the tool. Copper and, above all,
steel are worked in the same manner as in
taille-douce engraving, only the work is in-
tervened, and the entire sheet of dies is
made up by cliches obtained from the original
matrix. As examples of epargne, or relief,
engraving on steel, and of the typographic
printing of the designs thus produced, we
may refer to the stamps of the French Re-
public and Empire, engraved h\ ML Barre.
The type was multiplied by M. Hulot, by
means of the electro typing proci s and the
copper dies thus obtained have been endued
with the firmness and resisting-power of
bronze, by methods known only to him.
Electrotyping is not the only way of obtain-
ing cliches. Formerly they were got by
striking; and it is by a revival of this old
method, that the head of Mercury, engraved
by M. Barre for the Greek stamps, was multi-
plied.

Latterly, photographs of designs have been
obtained on metal plates, and fixed thereon
by means of acids. This process, however,
has not, as far as we know, been applied to
the fabrication of stamps ; but in some collec-
tions of engravings may be seen proofs of
dies, which, were they but properly worked
and touched up, might give excellent results.
We mention this merely in view of what
may happen at some future time. .

Instead of multiplying the original dies
engraved in taille-douce or in relief, recourse
is frequently had to lithography to effect
the multiplication. And here we may appro-
priately mention that, as only a limited num-
ber of proofs can be obtained from the
original matrix-stone, it is by means of
transfers that the design is multiplied. Im-
pressions from the matrix-stone are taken on
autographic (prepared) paper, which is then
placed face downwards on a new stone, and
wetted on the opposite side. When passed
under the press, the design abandons the
paper, and is transferred to the stone ; and
this operation can be repeated as often as
may be desired. The same process may be
employed for the multiplication of proofs
from a die engraved in taille-douce, or in

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

167

relief, on the sole condition that lithographic
ink be used to obtain the copy which is to be
transferred to the stone. It will be perceiv-
ed that the copies thus obtained, partake at
once of the characteristics of lithographic
impressions, and of typographic or faille- douce
engraviDgs. As examples of these different
kinds of transfer, we may point to the
Bergedorf stamps (originally lithographed),
the Oldenburg stamps of 1851, 1858, and
1860 (originally engraved in taille-donce),
and the Liberian stamps (engraved in the
first instance on wood). All these stamps
have been multiplied by lithographic trans-
fers. The stamps of Liberia present even
this special characteristic, that there are at
least three several transfers ; for though the
stamps of one and the same value are all
identical, the external line-frame shows a
different arrangement, according to the pe-
riod at which the transfer was effected.

Thus, then, we have summarily indicated
the three kinds of impression. Let us briefly
run over the means of recognition.

Taille-douce. — The lines of the design stand-
ing out in relief on the front of the sheet, in
consequence of the visible thickness of the
ink ; traces of strong pressure at the back.

Typographic. — Design in relief at the hack
of the sheet ; slight relief in front of the
blank parts ; no apparent thickness of ink.

Lithographic. — No relief of the ink in front ;
no relief at the back. More or less remark-
able glossiness of the paper.

These are the distinctive characteristics ;
but they are sometimes difficult to recognise.

Thus, for instance, how shall we discover
the peculiarities of typographic impression
in stamps which have been pressed under a
cylinder ? For a reply we can but repeat the
excellent recommendation which we found
in a recent article by Mr. Pemberton, —
"Learn to examine stamps; learn their pe-
culiarities, their styles of engraving.
Study your specimens, and you will find an
imperceptible sense come to you."

Poor Letter H. — Sir Rowland Hill made a good
remark upon hearing the power of the letter H discussed,
whether it were a letter or not. If it were not, he said,
it would be a very serious affair for him, for it would
make him ill all the days of his life.

THIRTY-THREE YEARS OF FIRST

ISSUES.

BY THE REV. ROBERT BlilSCO EAREE.

It is curious to look back into the past, and
note the slowness of most of the great Euro-
pean Powers to take up our invention of
postage stamps. We might certainly have
thought that after the plan had been once
started it would be hailed with pleasure by
the officials of all countries, and adopted at
once ; whereas, the list shows us that for
three years we were alone in our use of post-
age stamps, and that the idea took actually
ten years to travel to such places as Austria,
Spain, and Prussia ! And who were our first
imitators ? Not the great powers of Europe,
not the busy centres of the world's industry,
but an out-of-the-way Swiss canton, and a
far-away South American kingdom ! We
should have prophesied something far differ-
ent from this, especially when we remember
how apt men usually are to take advantage
of the useful inventions of others. But if
some of these countries were late in availing
themselves of Sir Rowland Hill's plan, they
have most amply made up (at least, in the
eyes of philatelists) for their dilatoriness,
by the constant succession of new stamps
which they have issued ever since they com-,
menced using them. Take the three coun-
tries of Austria, Spain, and Prussia, men-
tioned above — Spain especially — though
they allowed ten years to elapse before they
took any advantage of the invention, yet the
pages in our albums dedicated to the said
countries make a goodly show. Indeed,
Spain has hardly let a single year go by
since the date of its first postage stamps,
without bringing out a new issue ; and phil-
atelists have learnt to look for a new issue
of Spanish every year as naturally as they
look for the commencement of another volume
of The 8' tamp -Collector' 's Magazine. The
reader will remark that out of the whole
thirty-three years, only two (1841-2) were
unmarked by new issues. For the last three
years there have been very few countries
to be added to the list, — but this is easily
explained by the fact that there are really
not many civilized countries now which do
not enjoy the benefit of postage stamps.

168

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

However, we need not grumble at this, for
I fancy that if, from this date, no more new
stamps were to be issued for any country,
the stamps already existing would give us
employment for years to come. The table
given below I have compiled chiefly from
M. Moens' catalogue, in which the dates are,
for the most part, trustworthy. If, however,
there are any errors, I am open to correction.

Table of first Issues.

1840.— Great Britain.
1841.— Nothing.

1842.— , Xothing.

1843.— Brazil, Zurich.

1844. — Geneva.

181.5. — Basle, St. Louis, New York, Finland, St. Peters-
burg.

1846.— Providence, E. I.

1817.— Philippine Islands, United States.

1848— Russia.

1819. — Bavaria, Belgium, France, Vaud, Winterthur.

1853. — Austria, Austrian Italy, Baden, British Guiana,
Hanover, Italy, Mauritius, New South Wales,
Prussia, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Spain,
Switzerland, Tuscany, Victoria.

1851. — Canada, Denmark, Neufdiatel, Oldenburg, Trini-
dad, Wurtemburg.

1852. — Barbados, Brunswick, Chili, Holland, Luxembourg,
Modena, Parma, Papal States, Reunion, Sand-
wich Islands, Thurn and Taxis.

1853. — Cape of Good Hope, Portugal, Tasmania.

1854. — India, Norway, Western Australia.

1855. — Bremen, Cuba, New Zealand, South Australia,
Sweden.

1853.— Corrientes, Finland, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mon-
tevideo.

1857. — Ceylon, Liibeek, Mexico, Natal, New Brunswick,
Pacific Ocean Steam Navigation Co., Peru,
Russia, St. Helena.

1858. — Argentine, Buenos Ayres, Moldavia, Naples, Nova
Scotia.

1859. — Bahamas, Hamburg, Ionian Islands, New Granada,
Romagna, St. Lucia, Sicily, Venezuela.

1860. — French Colonies, Grenada, Helsingfors, Jamaica,
Liberia, Malta, New Caledonia, Poland, Prince
Edward Island, St. Thomas.

1861 . — Bergedorf, British Columbia and Vancouver Island,
Confederate States, Greece, Nevis, Queensland,
St. Vincent, Sierra Leone.

1862. — Antigua, Costa Rica, Hayti, Hong Kong, Livonia,
Nicaragua.

1833 —Bolivar, Turkey, Turk's Islands.

1834. — Dutch Indies, La Guaira, Levant, Mecklenburg-
Strelirz.

1865. — Bermuda, Bergen, British Honduras. Drontheim,
Ecuador.

1866. — Cashmere, Danubian Steam Navigation Company,
Deccan, Egypt, Honduras, Servia, Shanghai,
Taimnerfors, Virgin Islands.

1857.— Bolivia, Guadalajara, Heligoland, San Salvador,
Straits Settlements.

1838.— Antioquia, Azores, Drammens, Fernando Po,
Madeira, North German Confederation, Orange
Free State.

1869.— Gambia, Sarawak, Transvaal.

1870. — Alsace, Angola, Cundinamarca, Paraguay, St.

Christopher, S. Thome e Principe.
1871. — German Empire, Guatemala, Hungary, Japan.
1872. — Fiji Islands, Portuguese Indies.
1873. — Iceland, Curasao, Dutch Guiana.
(1874. — Loaiula? Macan? Montenegro? Persia? J

NEWLY-ISSUED OR
STAMPS.

INEDITED

Bolivar. — A series of four stamps for this
sovereign state has just come over. The de-
sign is a lithographed one, of no remarkable
beauty. The arms of
the Colombian Federation,
drawn on a diminutive
scale, and surmounted by
nine dots, intended to do
duty for stars, appear in
the centre of an uncoloured
circular disk, round which
runs the inscription estado
SOBERANO DE bolivak. Above the circle, in
the upper margin, are the words correos
del estado, and in the lower margin the
value in words. The numeral of value,
accompanied by some very primitive-looking
ornaments, fill up the spandrels. The entire
design is in colour on white. The values
are as follows : —

5 centavos blue.
10 ,, maxive.

20 ,, green.

80 ,, vermilion.

We have no information as to the date of
emission, nor, in fact, any other particulars
respecting the series, of which we have,
however, received specimens from a very
trustworthy source.

Spain. — The dilatory postal authorities of
this distracted country have at length made
up their minds to issue post cards — in 1874,
or later. They have given hostages of their
sincerity to public expectation by adopting
a design, and, if we are not mistaken,
printing off a supply of cards in readiness.
Thanks to Mr. Ysasi's courtesy, we have
before lis one of the intended cards, and
find it will compare favourably in appear-
ance with the emissions of its nearest neigh-
bour. It is of rather large size, and the
legend and stamp are enclosed in a tooth-
patterned border. In the centre of the
card, near the top, is the impressed stamp,

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

169

which is none other than our old friend the
current Belgian arms type, modified to suit
the circumstances. In place of the crown
and lion on the Belgian stamp, we have on
its Spanish imitation a small oval disk, con-
taining the bust of the goddess of Liberty,
crowned with the Phrygian bonnet, and a
scroll with the word correos. on it replaces
the Belgian motto. The figure of value (5)
appears on a solid oval disk, as in the
Belgian, and a portion of the word centimos
below it. A lion, better drawn than that on
the Belgian stamps, and looking to the right,
hides the lower part of the oval disk, and
keeps guard over a kind of ball placed by
his side. Below him is the word espana in
coloured letters. Maltese crosses fill the
upper angles of the stamp ; in the lower
are square disks containing rosette orna-
ments. Altogether, the type must be pro-
nounced a successful one. The Spanish
artist has in some respects improved on his
model. The only thing we are surprised at
is the prominence given to the lion. In the
posture in which it is represented it no
longer forms the armorial bearing of Arra-
gon ; and in any case the propriety of
representing the bearings of one province, to
the exclusion of those of the others, may be
questioned. As a Spanish national emblem,
we believe we are correct in stating the lion
does not exist. The modest bust of Liberty
marks the form of government under which
it is expected the cards will be issued ; and
the words republica espanola, in large
letters, form an arch across the centre of
the card — an arch which, however, is broken
by the stamp, there being thus a word on
either side. Below the impressed stamp is
the inscription targeta postal. Then comes
the place for the address, and below that
the customary notice, to the effect that the
communication must be written on the back.
The stamp and the external frame are in
blue, the legend is black, and the card itself
a dull white.

With regard to the Don Carlos stamp, of
which wre recently gave an illustration,
M. Moens, who was the first to receive it,
affirms its genuineness in the most positive
manner, and ascribes to malevolent motives
the adverse judgment of the Gazette des

Timbres referred to in our last. It results,
however, from M. Moens's own statement
that the employment of the stamp is not
obligatory, because the Carlists not being in
entire possession of the four northern pro-
vinces, it has not yet been possible to make
any durable arrangement. It was expected
when our contemporary w7rote this expla-
nation that ere long a service of couriers
would be established, but since then the
prospects of the Carlists have taken rather
an unfavourable turn. Moreover, in all the
letters from special correspondents which
we have perused we see no mention made
of anything approaching a postal service,
and wre recollect that one correspondent
thought himself very fortunate in being
allowed to send his letter in Don Carlos's
bag. It is true a Reuters telegram from
Bayonne, dated 30th Sept., states that a one
real stamp has been issued, but we should
hesitate to accept any unsupported state-
ment of that kind, seeing that, as a rule,
the information respecting stamp issues
communicated in such haphazard way to
newspapers is rarely to be trusted. Perhaps
this telegram, together with M. Moens's
information, may be taken to indicate an
intention to issue a one real stamp, of which
a supply has already been printed in readi-
ness. If any specimens have already been
used by members of the Pretender's army,
it can only have been in an irregular sort of
way. Had a postal service, however primi-
tive its nature, been formally established,
such an impoi'tant political act would have
received the utmost publicity ; and if there
be no such service in existence, we do not
see any room for the employment, in the
legitimate sense, of postage stamps. Hence
w*e are inclined to look on the design which
has made its appearance as at present
nothing more than that of a projected
stamp. One word in conclusion. M. Moens
says the supply has been printed either at
Bayonne, or in London. It would not add
to our confidence in the "aspirant's"
genuineness wrere we to find that London
was the place of its nativity.

Before leaving the Spanish stamps we
must mention that the colour of the 10
pesetas is not green, but violet-brown.

170

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

Russian Locals. — Mariupol (Ekaterinos-
lav). — The design here re-

F^fo>*yflof'7ii presented was described in
^''■dHi «? our last, and we need only
repeat that it is printed in
black on white.

Biejetsk (Tver).— The
Blkto^*?*?3 Biejetsk stamps have been

' doing postal service by

stealth for some time past, and will not now
blush to find it fame. It is desirable to know,
and to have all the local stamps issued ; were
it not so we might almost regret the unearth-
ot such an insignificant

JKXXXXX.
XMapieaX

X 3 K. £>

xxxxxx

; and the

ing 01 sucn an
type as the one here represented.
Ugly type-set stamps are always
fruitful in varieties caused by
the dropping of a letter, the
omission of a comma, the mis-
placing of a section of the de-
sign, and other similar causes
Biejetsk stamps are no exception to this rule.
We, however, hardly feel justified in taking
up our spacj with a description of them ;
suffice it to say, that the type is printed in
black on green paper.

MaloarchangelsJc (Orel). — The word arch-
angel, which occurs in the name of this dis-
trict, might lead us to expect that its armo-
rial bearings would
include the represen-
tation of some celes-
tial being, and a
casual glmce at the
type here represented
would tend to con-
firm the supposition ;
but, on a closer in-
spection, the winged
creatures which occupy the shield turn out
to ba badly designed heraldic eagles. The
upper compartment of the shield presumably
contains the arms of the government, and
the lower those of the district, and between
the two the differences are comparatively
slight. The impression of this tolerably
commonplace design is effected by hand,
and is consequently very rough. The colour
is black on white. This type was described
a couple of years since in the catalogue to
which, for brevity's sake, we generally refer
as the " July list.'"

soldi

■>■)

^fC-OTJ-.

Montenegro. — It appears that on the pro-
jected series the value will be expi'essed .in
soldi, and not in novtcli, as at first .stated.
The colours are as follows : —
yellow,
green,
rose.

violet. (?)
blue,
bistre.
violet- brown.

With the exception of the 7 soldi, the
colours and values are those of the current
Austrian set.

Victoria. — The provisional halfpenny ad-
hesive, described in our last, has been
followed by a newspaper wrapper, bearing
an inscription from the die of the current
penny green, with the value reduced to a
halfpenny, by maans of the surcharge de-
scribed by us. The wrapper provisional
stamp is in every respect identical with the
provisional adhesive.

Japan. — The 2 sen
red, issued at the be-
ginning of the year,
has already been super-
seded by a 2 sen yellow,
of which we have just
received specimens. The
new comer presents the
old design, which we
here reproduce.

Ecuador. — Specimens of the three "sus-
pects,"— \ rl., 1 rl.j and 1 peso, — of which
engravings were given in our January
number, have just been received by a very
respectable firm; and this fact, coupled with
the information obtained concerning them
by M. Mahe, encourages us to place faith
in them. The yellow 1 real, on papier
quadrille, has just been received by M. Moens
obliterated 15 Nov., 1865. As this value
was issued in 1865, the variety referred to
belongs to the first edition thereof, instead
of to the last, as hitherto supposed.

Heligoland. — We have to thank a well-
known dealer for communication of a j sen.
with inversed colours,— rose disk, white
spandrels, and green border. This may
either be a second issue, as our corre-
spondent supposes, or, as we are inclined

(-u-Ln nixa

THE STAMP -COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

171

ourselves to believe, either a trial stamp or
a printer's error.

Norway. — The new series has received an
addition, in the shape of an unexpected
value, a 7 sk. chocolate, of the same design
as the other recently issued stamps.

Turks Islands. — From a letter we pub-
lish in our correspondence columns it would
appear that there is a probability of the
stamps for these islands being withdrawn.

Queensland. — A corres|)ondent informs
us that the shilling stamp is now printed in
claret.

Dutch Indies. — The Philatelist says that a
5 cent post card for Java will shortly be
issued.

Roumania. — In Le Timure-poste for Sep-
tember it is stated that the post cards are
very popular in Roumania, and that three
editions of the known type have been issued,
viz : —
1st edition, 3000 single, 2000 double cards.
2nd „ 30,000 „ 15,000
3rd „ 50,000 „ 20,000

The first edition is on white, the second on
brown, the third on buff-coloured card, and
on the third the arms are smaller.

Portugal, — The same journal publishes
information of the appearance of the 240
reis of the new type, and we are also in-
debted to it for the following paragraphs.

Peru. — The 2 centavos is now line-pierced
on colour.

Tasmania. — The 3d. has come over printed
a dark violet-brown.

Jamaica. — The issue of the Id. and 1/-
with c.C. and crown watermark, completes
the series with that watermark.

Saint Lucia. — The sixpence is now printed
in pale mauve.

Switzerland. — Newspaper bands bearing
a 5 c. stamp of the new type struck in rose,
have recently appeared.

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

The Philatelist for October is a readable
number, although it does not contain any
very important news. We are glad to see
that in respect of the Pahlunpoor humbugs
the editor has taken up the same position
as that which we ourselves adopted. Mr.

Durbin's article, "A few Words of Advice to
young Collectors," on which Ave commented
last month, is reprinted, as is also an inter-
esting paper, originally published in The
New York Journal of Commerce, relating
" How the United States Postal Envelopes are
manufactured." From this we learn that
the line envelopes (qy., envelopes with lines
for the address) must under the contract be
gummed by hand, and this is how it is done :

After they leave the cutting-rooms, they are sent to the
gumming-rooms. Here they are laid out on rows of
boards or tables, fixed above each other, so as to slide in
grooves that are cut in upright boards placed at each end
of the systems of tables. Behind these tables are adjust-
able step-ladders, for the operator to stand upon and
reach any desired height. Atier the patterns are arranged
upon the tables, each pattern projecting half-an-iuch
beyond the other, a girl goes over them lightly with a
paste brush. This is the branch of work in which it is
most difficult to secure competent hands. The least slip
destroys a number of patterns and creates trouble, as
every imperfection is noted, and involves an alteration
in the accounts. Some of the girls who do this work,
however, gum 50,000 per day ; and it is found . that the
fastest gummers usually do the best work. The next
part of the work is stamping, which is done on twenty
machines, made especially for the purpose.

The other envelopes which do not require
to be hand-gummed are fabricated by means
of automatic presses, in which the sheet of
paper, already cut by a pattern-knife to the
desired shape, is thrown on parallel bars, on
which, by other machinery, it is worked
through all the operations of gumming,
folding, and stamping. " Thus," says the
article, "by automatic movement an enve-
lope pattern put into the feeder goes sudden-
ly through the several stages of manufacture,
and drops out on the lower side a perfect
stamped envelope." This puts us in mind
of the mythical machine at Cincinnati, into
which a pig enters alive at one end, and a
few minutes after comes out as sausage meat
at the other.

In the Spud Paper Mr. Earee discusses
sundry Hanoverian forgeries. Those of the
first issues are distinguishable by the fact
that they are lithographed and unwater-
marked, and that the thin inner line of
frame is often so blotched as to touch the
outer one, besides which the lion and unicorn
show several points of difference. The 3 pf.
rose and the same value green can be detected
by there being only 30 lines in the oval, whilst
on the genuine stamps there are 32. In the

172

THE STAMP.COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

genuine specimens of the head series, outside
the circle between it and the border, there
are two vertical lines of groundwork on the
left-hand side, and one on the light ; in the
forgeries there is only one of vertical ground-
work lines to be seen on either side. For
the \ groschen black the following is the
recipe: Genuine, 10 small pearls and 1
large one outside the crown to right, and 9
small and 1 large to left. Inside the wide
mouth of post-born are 17 lines of shading.
Forged, 11 small pearls and 1 large one out-
side the top of crown on each side. Inside
the mouth of the post-horn there are only 13
lines of shading.

Le Timbre-Poste. — The leading article in
the current number is entitled " The sol-
di sant Pahlunpoor Stamps," and in it their
claims to acceptance are most mercilessly
demolished by Dr. Magnus on the facial
evidence they themselves afford, whence it
is apparent that the concoctors of these fic-
titious stamps were misled by the results
of Mr. Pemberton's study of the round
Cashmere type. Dr. Magnus, possessing
probably no information as to these Pahlun-
poor impositions, deserves great credit for
having extracted from them, by his own
unaided investigations, the proofs of their
worthlessness.

The American Journal nf Philately. — The
numbers for the 1st and 15th September are
before us, and contain some good reading,
and notably an article on post cards. The
writer affects to believe that the silence of
the English journals on the subject of post
cards, from the time when the first Austrian
came out until the appearance of the English
cards, was the result of pique at the inven-
tion of so useful a system by foreigners ; but
seeing that there were no cards issued during
the time when we were silent, we hardly see
that the writer makes his point as far as
we are concerned. In fact, from a quotation
which he makes from The Stamp- Collector's
Magazine of 1869, it is evident — and we
lay claim to the honour with pride — that
we were among the first to perceive the real
and immense utility of an innovation which
was characterised by one of our confreres
about the same time, as " a vagary " !

PAPERS FOR BEGINNERS.— No. XXXI.

BY OVEKY TAYLOR.

EUROPE.

3i)cligolani).

Red is the strand,

White is the sand,

Green is the hand, —

These are the colours of Heligoland.

And red, white, and green, are the colours of
the stamps of the little "rabbit-warren" off
the German coast, which, though an English
possession, contains pro-
bably not a single English
inhabitant, except the go-
vernor. Its stamps bear
the pi'ofile of the Queen,
but are fabricated at
Berlin, and their denomi-
nations are expressed in
the Hamburg currency.
Heligoland, or Holy Land, is a sandy patch
about a mile long, and never more than
half that distance broad. There are about
390 houses on the high ground, and 78
fishermen's huts in the lower part. There
are 2000 people on the island, and "no end "
of rabbits. The Heligolanders, besides postal
communication and other proofs of a high
civilisation, can boast of a "national" debt
of £5000, and until a few years back, of a
number of highly popular gambling " hells,"
which were summarily suppressed by the
governor.

The exportation of fish brings in about
£10,000 a year, and yields a livelihood to
the fishermen, whilst the people in the high-
town derive their means of subsistence from
the visitors, of whom there are a great many
from Hamburg and its environs.

The island became a British possession in
1807. A short time ago it was reported
that Prince Bismarck had his eye on it, and
that the government intended to cede it to
Germany for a consideration, the negotiations,
however, if any were really opened, dropped
through, and at present there is no reason to
doubt but that the stamps which form the
subject of the present paper will long remain
current.

The series as originally issued consisted of
four values, — | sch., 1 sch., 2 sch., and b*

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

173

schilling. The design is the same for all, hut
in the printing the chang'es were ingeniously
rung on the traditionary colours, — red, white,
and green, — as follows : —

Coloured Lettering on White Ground.
■| schilling, central oval, green ; spandrels,
rose ; border and lettering, green.

1 schilling, central oval, rose ; spandrels,

green ; border and lettering, rose.

While Lettering on Coloured Ground.

2 schilling, centre and spandrels, green ;

ground of frame and corner figures, rose.
6 schilling, centre and spandrels, rose; ground
of frame and corner figures, green.

The issue took place on the 15th April,
1867. All four values were rouletted. The
type is printed in two operations, one for
each colour, there being separate dies for the
border and the centre ; and the first supply
was rouletted.- The green employed was a
rich chrome-green, and the rose might, per-
haps with more accuracy, be termed carmine.
The profile of the Queen is in relief, and
some attempt seems to have been made to
impart an appearance of maturity to its
lineaments.

In 1869 the \ sch. made its appearance"
perforated, and printed in a delicate light-
green of an emerald tint. In 1871 the 1 sch.
was likewise issued perforated.

The emission of two new values — \ sch.
and \\ sch. — has been so recently adverted
to in these pages as to render unnecessary
any but the brief est reference. Nor does the
issue of the large unstamped post card re-
quire more than a passing mention.

3§oUanci.

The Dutch stamps, though far more nu-
merous than those of Heligoland, present an
equally clean record, and consequently offer
no difficulty whatever to the
student. The first series was
issued on the 1st January,
1852. It consisted of three
values — 5 c. blue, 10 c. lake-
red, 15 c. .orange, — which -are
all very common. The design
is simple, but well engraved. The stamps are
below the average in size, and are water-
marked with a post-horn. The only gene-

rally accepted variety is the 5 c. dark blue,
which contoasts very decidedly with the or-
dinary light blue stamp. Mention, however,
has been made of a jet-black 5 c, of which a
postmarked copy has been seen. This cannot
have been other than a specimen of the well-
known proof in that colour. M. Moens
catalogues dark and light shades of the two
other values, but these distinctions are rather
fine.

The first series held on the even tenor
of its way, without any change whatever,
for rather more than twelve
years, when the adoption of
the system of perforation
was made the occasion for
the issue of a fresh type.
The second series consisted
of the same three values as
its predecessor. The 10
cents appeared on the 12th of May, 1864;
the other two denominations some months
afterwards. The type is even more simple
than that of the first. No attempt whatever
is made at ornament, beyond the sketching
of ail almost imperceptible pattern on the
oval frame. The colours differ only in shade
from those of the corresponding values in
the first issue, and collectors who have a
partiality for colour varieties may distinguish
(as Moens does) a 5 c. blue and dark blue,
a 10 c. red and bright red, and 15 c. orange-
yellow and orange.

A third series was issued in 1867, con-
sisting of six values, namely, the original
three, and three higher
denominations, — 20 c, 25
c, and 50 c. The de-
sign is a more embel-
lished one than that of
the former types. The
King's profile, which is
very well engraved, is
turned to the left ; a
rather heavy border runs up the sides ;
and the name of the country — neder-
land — figures above the portrait. The
colours are well chosen, and help to render
the series an effective one, viewed as a
whole. Blue is again allotted to the
5 c.j but this time it is bright ultramarine ;
the 10 c. appears in red and carmine-rose ;

174

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

UUU"U"UVUVT-ru\.

-whilst the 15 c. takes a reddish brown hue,
approaching to "burnt sienna." Of the new
values the 20 c. is a rich dark green, the
25 c. violet, and the 50 c. gold.

In 1868 the advent of newspaper
stamps was inaugurated by the issue of
the 1 e. black and 2 c.
yellow, of the annexed
type. The latter is still
in use, but the 1 c.
changed its coat in the
following year, and ap-
peared in a light, deli-
cate green. In 1869 the
1^ c. rose was issued, and
in 1870 the § c. lilac-
brown, and 2\ c. mauve made their ch'bnf.

Three different sizes of perforation
were indifferently used for the 1867 series,
but only one for the newspaper stamps.
All the values of the 1867 type, and also all
the newspaper stamps, exist unparforated,
and specimens are sufficiently numerous to
admit of their being quoted at comparatively
low figures in the leading continental cata-
logue ; but no price is entered for obliterated
copies, and it is permissible to conjecture
that the unperf orated issue was never even
intended for sale to the public; they, therefore,
cannot rank as " oversights," and are entitled
to a very low rank as varieties manufactured
only for the benefit of col lectors. The 10 c.
carmine-rose on bluish paper is, however,
a genuine variety, and as it was issued in
1871, its currency was of short duration ;
it is, consequently, rather rarer than the
ordinary stamps.

In 1872 the current series was brought
out. It excited much admiration from its
delicacy of execution, and is sufficiently
well known to render description super-
fluous. It is merely necessary to observe

that it comprises a stamp of which the
facial value slightly exceeds four shillings,
and it may not be inappropriate here to
remark that the Dutch cent is, rOundly
speaking, worth two French centimes.

UNPAID LETTER STAMPS.

Two unpaid-letter stamps
of the annexed type made
their appearance in 1870 :
5 cent, brown on orange.
1 0 „ violet on blue.
These stamps are perforated,
but imperforated copies are
known to exist.

POST CARPS.

The Dutch, though they have no stamped
envelopes, possess those more generally
useful innovations — post cards. In 1871 a
stampless card was issued, but was soon
followed by a card bearing an impressed
2| c. stamp, consisting of the central device
of the newspaper type — arms in a circle,
name above, and value below — in the upper
right corner. Both cards are of a pale buff
colour, and the stamp, the ornamental frame,
and the four-lined legend in the lower
margin, are in lilac. In 1872, a second card
was issued differing from its predecessor in
the absence of the marginal legend and
in the colour of the impression, which is a
reddish lilac. Of this latter type a " reply-
paid " card was issued, consisting of two
leaves folded like a sheet of paper, with the
inscriptions for the "reply" half printed on
third page. A kind of " post card " has
been issued by a private society of commis-
sionaires at Rotterdam, but it has really
nothing whatever to do with any postal
service.

ESSAYS AND PROOFS.

The name of the Dutch essays and proofs
is legion. There are 700 varieties of one of
the essay types, and proofs in all the colours
of the rainbow of the adopted designs.
Their value to a beginner is nil, nor can they
be of much interest to a collector, seeing
that they merely prove the speculative
tendencies of the engravers or printers.

the stamp-collector's magazine.

175

THE FRANKFORT NEWSPAPER
STAMPS.

Rather, more than eiglit years ago, the
Frankfort stamps made some little stir in
the philatelic world. In the third vohime
of The Stamp-Cul-
lector's Magazine the
attention of collec-
tors was called by
Mr. Overy Taylor to
Dr. Gray's descrip-
tion of a "dentated
adhesive " stamp,
the design of which
consisted of a spread
eagle, with freib

STADT FRANKFURT

above, and zeitungs-stempel below, in an
oval. This reference gave rise to inquiry,
and it was found that the type described by
the learned doctor, and at first considered to
be apocrypha], did really exist, but instead of
taking the form of a dentated adhesive,
it existed as an impressed stamp, that is to
say, as a stamp struck by hand on the news-
paper sheet itself. It was furthermore
sbated, that it represented not merely the
postage, but also a newspaper duty, and the
propriety of collecting it was questioned.
There the matter remained, and the Frank-
fort hybrid, af ber a fitful appearance in the
catalogues and magazines, disappeared from
philatelic ken. From a communication, how-
ever, which has been made to us by a corres-
pondent, in whose integrity we place every
confidence, it would seem that but for the
Austro-Prussian war of 1866, which proved
the signal for the extinction of so many series
of stamps, we should have made the acquaint-
ance of the above design as what it was
originally described, — a "dentated" adhesive
stamp.

Our contributor sends for our perusal a
letter he has received from an intimate
friend at Frankfort, who is the son-in-law of
one of the co-proprietors of the Franhfurt
Journal. The writer explains that, owing to
this relationship, he had access to the offices
of the paper, and in one of the editor's
drawers he found a strip of twenty-five
specimens of the Frankfort newspaper

stamp, gummed and perforated, and of the
value of one kreuzer. These stamps were
intended ■ to replace those printed on the
sheets themselves. They would have been
issued on the 1st January, 1867, but for
the Prussian occupation of the city, and
would have been for sale auf dem Rechenei
Ami.

The twenty-five specimens found by the
writer are probably all that now exist. They
show the design, struck in black in rather a
rough way, on rather thin, wove, yellowish
white paper. The perforations are small,
complete, and very neatly done, and form a
rectangular frame to the oval design. The
impressions appear to be handstamped, and
are evidently from a well-worn die. They
are kept pretty well in a straight line, but not
at an even distance from the other ; some of
them touch at the sides, and the perforations
run into the black line formed by the over-
lapping of the borders.

These stamps must always remain very
scarce, and although even had they been
issued they would not have been entitled to
the consideration accorded to " thorough-
bred " postals, they still possess considerable
interest as indications of a projected advance
in the issue of stamps on the part of the
Frankfort authorities.

POSTAL CHIT-CHAT.

The Japanese Postal and Telegraph Service. —
From Tokio (Japan) the following interesting details
were forwarded to the Gazetta de Yenezia on the ]st of
May : " The postal system has, among others, been or-
ganized in a satisfactory manner. The letters from
Europe arrive here by the English post from Yokohama,
are handed over to the Japanese administration, and
after their addresses have been translated into Japanese,
they are distributed, and that generally with great punc-
tuality. The telegraph service is not so well organised.
As far as Yokohama, Nagasaki, Tokio, and other accessible
localities, the telegrams generally arrive with security
when the lines are once properly established, but in the
interior it is not the same thing, the telegraphic wires
being often maliciously cut, notwithstanding the heavy
punishments which have been decreed for this kind of
offence. Speaking of the telegraphic service, I must tell
you in what an ingenious manner the enormous difficulty
of telegraphing in the interior of the country in Japanese
and in Chinese have been overcome. Those languages
do not lend themselves to the operation, being composed,
as is known, of a great number of signs and connecting
marks. In consequence, out of the mass, 4000 words
have been chosen, with which almost every idea can be
expressed. These words have been numbered 1 to 4000,
and by telegraphing the figures, correspondence by wire
becomes easy. — Journal Ofticiel.

176

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS ACT, 1873.
To the Editor of" The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir,— By the above act, after reciting that it is
desirable that the Turks and Caicos Islands should cease
to have a separate government, and that they should be
annexed to, and form part of the Colony of Jamaica, it
is enacted that, " it shall be lawful for Her Majesty by
Order in Council, on addresses from the Legislative Bodies
of Jamaica and of the Turks and Caicos Islands to declare
that the said Turks and Caicos Islands shall, from a date
to be therein mentioned, be annexed to, and form part of
the colony of Jamaica, on such terms and conditions as
Her Majesty shall think fit to appoint." The Act received
the royal assent on the 4th April last, so that the transfer
ma}', ere this, have been completed by Order in Council.
It seems not unlikely that one result of the annexation
may be the suppression of the three Turks Islands stamps,
and the substitution of those used in Jamaica.

Yours truly,

Manchester. 0. H. II.

QUERIES ABOUT STAMPS.

To the Editor of" The Stamp-Collector's Maoazine."

Dear Sir, — With your permission, I should like to
ask those collectors who arc well up in philately a
question or two, respecting which I am in doubt.

1. Have the stamps of the countries named below ever
been seen postmarked ? As far as my experience goes,
used specimens are unknown.

Angola (either of the values).

Bolivar (ditto).

Bolivia, 500 centavos black.

Baden, "Land-post."

Bergedorf, ^ schilling lilac, and 3 sch. black on rose.

Canada, 12d. black.

Cuba, 1862, Jrl. black.

Deccan (either of the values.)

" Fiji Times Express."

Great Britain, " V.R." Id. black.

Hamburg (unperf.), 7 schilling mauve.

India (head in oval), 2 annas green.

Ionian Islands (either of the values).

Mexico (eagle), 3 centavos brown.

New Brunswick (Connell), 5 c. brown.

Moldavia (first issue, circular).

Pacific Steam Navigation Co.

Reunion.

St. Thomas and Drincipc (either of the values).

Service (arms), either of the values.

Shanghai (first issue).

Spain (18-57), 12 cuartos orange.

Montevideo, " diligencia " (either of the three).

2. Why cannot any value but the penny envelope be
obtained at the English post-offices ? I believe there are
also in existence 2d., 3d., 4d., 6d., and Is. embossed
envelopes, but of what earthly use can they be to the
general public, if they cannot be obtained in the usual
way, like other stamps. It would seem that by requiring
persons to send to Somerset House, and there to undergo
all the irritating routine inseparable from a government
office, the authorities have no desire that these higher
values should be generally used. Adhesives of corres-
ponding value are purchased in immense quantities;
and doubtless there would be a proportionate demand for
the envelopes if they were more accessible. In that case,
even stamp collectors would be no mean customers.

3. Are the 1831-60 United States stamps good for postal

purposes at the present time? To niy knowledge they
have been ottered, unused, in complete sets, at much
below their facial value ; and from this fact I am
inclined to believe they Were withdrawn from circulation
at the outbreak of hostilities between North and South.
Apologizing for taking up st much space,
I remain, dear Sir,

Your obedient servant,
London, N.W. C. J. KTLLICK.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

lv. Williamson, Cardiff.— We are glad at all times to
receive suitable information for our columns, hut we
cannot undertake to insert everything that comes to
hand.

C. J. Smith, Norfolk. — The firm you a~k about is
still in existence, hut have removed their business from
Birmingham to Dawlish, South Devon, to which place
address your letter.

L. C. K , York. — In December next, you may procure
of our publishers the 1873 volume of this magazine,
complete, in stiff paper covers, post free for 4/-. None
of the other volumes have been published in this cheap
form, but most of them can he had in cloth gilt for 6/6.

J. R.vwlings, Rugby- — The Stamp was a fortnightly
publication, published at 5d. The first number came out
on July 1st. The latest we have had sent us is No. 5,
for 1st September, and we believe this is the last that
was published. There are now four numbers due.

Ax old Collector asks, "Where are all the early
writers on Philately?" And he mentions several by
name, including Mount Brown ; Frederic Booty ; Dr.
J. E. Gray; Edward Oppen ; Thornton Lewes; Henry
Whyniper; Merger- Levrault ; Bellars & Davie; Lyman
Bagg ; W. Vipond, &c. Echo answers, " Where ? "

C. Morgan, Abergavenny. — The Stamp- Collector's
Magazine was commenced in February, 1863. and is
now, therefore, in its eleventh year. Messrs. E. Marl-
borough & Co., 4, Ave Maria Lane, E.C., are the London
publishers, of whom your bookseller may easilv procure
copies through his London agent, or you may subscribe
direct through the Bath firm.

P. R. Scholefield, Bradford, Yorks.— Your stamps,
without exception, are utterly worthless, being badly-
executed forgeries. You have only yourself to blame for
being so easily cheated. Good and genuine stamps can
only be obtained from respectable dealers, who have a
reputation to maintain ; and you cannot expect to buy a
dozen rarities for as many pence. We have again and
again, in these pages, cautioned our readers against the
attractive announcements of certain Glasgow and Hull
dealers.

II. T. H., Newham.- — 1. The covers sold by our pub-
lishers are the same as those used for the advertised bound
volumes.— 2. There is no 48 sk. post card for Denmark,
and if you will refer to vol ix., p. 90, you will see that
the values quoted are 2 and 4 sk. The engraving of the
48 sk., on p. 89, was inserted in the framework of the post
card merely to show the type.— 3. We very much doubt
now whether an English edition of Berger-Levrault's
catalogue will ever be published, and we fear that the 6th
editionof Dr. Gray's catalogue will not make its appearance
for some time to come. — 4. Your envelope with oO sur-
charged Indian " Service " stamps attached to it possesses
no special value, the number of stamps does not in itself
render the envelope inteiesting.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

177

IMPORTANT.

During the last few years, nearly every
commodity and luxury of life lias been
" going up," and our readers have become
so familiarised with strikes, advances in
wages, and increase in the price of coal
and a thousand other necessaries, that tliey
will hardly feel surprised to find that the
price of The Stamp-Collectors Magazine
is, in its turn, to be raised. In point
of fact, our publishers have not to complain
of failing circulation, but of an aug-
mentation in the cost of the magazine, and
they find themselves in the presence of
two alternatives : either the dimensions
of the journal and the number of illustra-
tions must be reduced, or the price in-
creased. They have chosen the latter, for
a reduction in size might be looked on as
the sign of a decadence which is not felt.
In their opinion, which we feel confident
the decision of our readers will ratify, a
diminution in the number of pages, the
employment of an inferior paper, and a
reduction in the number of engravings, would
be greater evils than a comparatively slight
increase in price ; for there is in reality no
lack of interesting and instructive matter
wherewith to fill the magazine ; and our
publishers' impression, which we share, is,
that the engravings, though they add largely
to the expense, form too important an aid
to the study of a subject which imperatively
requires pictorial illustration, to admit of
their employment being restricted to special
occasions only.

Our publishers, in whose name we are
authorised to speak, are far from being
anxious to obtain a direct profit from the
issue of the magazine. Without pretending
to affirm that they carry it on purely from
disinterested motives, we can, at any rate,
say, that as philatelists of long standing
themselves, they are principally desirous
of placing within the reach of stamp col-
lectors throughout the world a trustworthy
journal, devoted to the study and advocacy
of stamps, and will at all times be quite
satisfied if they can do this without actual
loss. For some time past, however, from
the causes referred to above, they have

found themselves considerably out of pocket ;
hence the resolution to which they have
come, to increase the price of the magazine
to Sixpence per month, or Six Shillings per
annum, the advance to take effect from the
first of January next. This, although a
high figure compared with the prices of
popular journals, can hardly be considered
excessive for a magazine which, treating
exclusively of one subject only, enjoys of
necessity but a comparatively limited cir-
culation.

We therefore appeal to our readers to
favour us with the continuance of the
support we have so long enjoyed at their
hands. We do not believe that the increased
cost will lead to any falling off in their
number. We beg them to be good enough
to renew their subscriptions at their earliest
convenience; and we, on our side, take leave
to renew the promise we have repeatedly
made, and never broken, to do our utmost
to sustain and augment the reputation
which in the course of eleven years The
S tamp- Collector s Magazine has acquired as
the leading philatelic organ of the Greater
Britain.

MR. PEMBERTON'S FORTHCOMING
CATALOGUE.

We are glad to be able to announce that
Mr. Pemberton's promised catalogue, long
looked for, is coming at last. The first part
is announced for New Year's Day. The
work will be completed in eight monthly
parts, and we trust that they will be issued
punctually, in accordance with the list given
by Mr. Pemberton's publishers. One great
feature of this compilation, which we have
no doubt will prove of the utmost value to
philatelists, will be its illustrations by pho-
tographic fac-similes of every known type.
We have before us a specimen plate of
these photographic illustrations, which are
of rare excellence, and reproduce most faith-
fully the minutest details of the designs.
The stamps represented are the Cuban
essay, the suspected Ecuador types, the
new 2 dollar United States departmental
postage stamp, four values of the old, and
five of the present, United States general
issue, and the Spanish post card. The

178

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

capabilities of the process are most trium-
phantly shown in the reproduction of the
15 and 24 c. U. S., with the miniature copies
of celebrated pictures in the centre : the
originals themselves are scarcely clearer.
The least successful is the Spanish post
card : the pale blue of the border and stamp
not having taken well. But there is a very
simple means of overcoming this difficulty
■ — at any rate, in the case of stamps which
are not of great value — and that is, to
change the colour, by the use of chemicals,
from blue to black, or to some other dark
colour which photographs well. This would
not interfere with the faithful reproduction
of the design, but as the stamp would be
spoilt by the dyeing, the process could not
be resorted to in the case of rarities.

Thirty-one plates, of the size of the
specimen, will illustrate the work. There
will be three in the first part, and four in each
of the others. The price of the first part
will be 1/1 ; of the subsequent issues, 1/7
each. The contents will embrace every-
thing issued to the end of 1873 — in other
words, will consist of complete lists of
adhesives, entire envelopes, post cards, bands,
and locals ; but only government adhesives
and envelopes will be figured, as the illus-
tration of locals, owing to their great
number and variety, is almost impossible.
That the descriptions will be correct, and in
every respect trustworthy, we cannot doubt;
the author's name is synonymous with
philatelic accuracy, and our readers cannot
do better than subscribe one and all to his
catalogue. We the more readily lend a
hand to secure a wide publicity to this
work, from the knowledge that it has been
undertaken rather with a view to the benefit
of philatelists, than in the hope of making
a profit out of it ; indeed, so costly is the
process of photographing the stamps, that
the book, even with the large sale there is
every reason to expect for it, can hardly
prove a financial success. That it will
greatly enhance its author's reputation is,
however, unquestionable, for in its pages
will b3 condensed the results of many years
of study and arduous investigation, by
which collectors throughout the world will
not be slow to profit.

We purpose reviewing the parts as they
successively appear. Meanwhile, we have
pleasure in publishing this notice, and thus
roughly delineating the shadow of a coming
event.

THE PORTRAITS ON THE CURRENT
ARGENTINE STAMPS.

UN (1) CENTAV0, violet.

General Balcarce. — Deputy-Director of
the United Provinces of La Plata in 1816 ;
Governor of Buenos Ayres in 1832.
CUATRO (4) centavos, brown.

Dr. Mariano Moreno. — Secretary to the
Provisional Junta of Emancipation in 1810.
CINCO (5) centavos, vermilion.

Bernardino Rivadavia. — Distinguished
Minister for Foreign Affairs, and of the
Interior for the Province of Buenos Ayres ;
named on the 7th February, 1826, first
President of the Argentine Republic ;
abolished slavery ; was exiled in 1836, and
died at Cadiz in 1845.*

diez (10) centavos, green.

General Manuel Belgrano. — Member of
the Provisional Junta of Emancipation
(composed of nine members) in 1810. Gained
the decisive battle of Salta on the 20th
February, 1813.

quince (15) centavos, deep blue.

General Jose de San Martino. — One of
the officers who contributed the most to-
wards the liberation of the provinces of La
Plata, and the creation of the Argentine
Republic. Died at Boulogne-sur-mer in
1850.

treinta (30) centavos, orange.

General Carlos de Alvear. — Supreme
Director of the Republic of the United
Provinces of La Plata in 1815.

SESENTA (60) CENTAVOS, black.

Gervacio Antonio de Posadas. — Named
in 1814 First Supreme Director of the
Republic of the United Provinces of La
Plata.

NOVENTA (90) CENTAVOS, blue.

General Coenelio Saavedra. — President
of the Provisional Junta of Emancipation
in 1810.

* See Biographical notice, &'. C. M., vol. Hi., p. 85.

TEE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

179

PAPERS for BEGINNERS.— No. XXXII.

BY OVRUY TAYLOK.
EUROPE.

3ijunganj.

Only a feeling of respect for Lord Strafford's
brief but expressive motto, " Thorough,"
induces me to refer to the issues of this
semi-independent country after the careful
analysis to which they have so recently
been subjected by " A Parisian Collector "
in his interesting notes. I have only to
refer to those notes to obtain the materials
necessary for the description of the Hun-
garian stamps of which only a single series,
properly so called, has hitherto been issued ;
but as the historical importance of postage
stamps can never be undervalued, I need
no excuse for drawing attention to the re-
markable change in the Austrian political
system which led to their emission. It will
be in the memory of most of my readers
that in 1848 a terrible insurrection, which
was only put down after a bloody struggle,
took place in Hungary. The Emperor
of Russia sent an army to assist his
Austrian ally, who would otherwise have
been overborne, and the Austrian General
Haynau made his name hateful by his
severity to the conquered Hungarians. The
aspirations of the Magyar people, however,
though crushed, could not be extinguished,
and their smouldering discontent was a
source of constant uneasiness to the Vienna
cabinet. After the war of 1866, when
Austria found herself excluded from the
direction of Germany, and the empire ap-
peared to be drifting into a state of dis-
integration, a different policy was inaugurated
under the guidance of Count Beust. Con-
ferences were held with the Hungarian
leaders, and ultimately their demands for
the recognition of Hungary as a separate
state, coupled with the revival of its dis-
tinctive institutions, and a separate ad-
ministration, were granted. Hungary ceased
to be an Austrian province, and became a
kingdom. An Hungarian cabinet was
formed, and, as a pledge and confirmation of
the agreement, the Emperor of Austria was
crowned King of Hungary at Pesth, in June,
1867. Among the many changes which

followed this resurrection of a people,
came the establishment of a postal service,
which bore fruit in the shape of a series of
adhesive stamps in 1871 ; but as early as
the 1st November, 1869, a post card for
Hungary was issued, and a year before that

two journal-tax stamps — used for the same
purpose as the square Austrian stamps,
which have always been admitted into col-
lections— made their appearance.

Taking, however, the adhesives first, the
principal thing to note is the existence of
two series of the same type — one litho-
graphed, the other en-
graved. The former, by
reason of its brief currency,
is becoming rare. The
difference in the appear-
ance of the two is sufficient
to ensure their being dis-
tinguished even by a tyro.
Whilst the engraved type is remarkably
well done, and clearly printed in bright
colours, the lithogi'aphed is blurred, dull,
and comparatively indistinct. To prevent
needless repetition in respect of a well-
known series, I take leave
to refer my readers to p. 117
of the present volume for
a list of the colours and
denominations of each. Of
the two journal stamps, the
one with mouth-piece of horn
to right was the first issued,
and that with mouth-piece of horn to left is
now in use.

Of the post cards, the first one, issued in
1869, might be taken for an Austrian ; the
inscription is the same as on the first
Austrian card — corresponded karte — and
an impression from the die of the yellow
2 kr. Austrian adhesive figures in the upper
right corner, but the arms are the Hun-
garian, and if any of my readers do not

180

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

know them, they have only to put an
Hungarian adhesive by the side of the cards,
and they will at once see if the shield is the
same as that on the adhesive, or not. The
incongruity of an Hungarian card with
German inscription being soon perceived,
the first card was superseded by one
inscribed levelezesi lap, which, however,
differed in no other respect from its pre-
decessor. Finally, in 1870, a third card
came out with the imprint of the 2 kr.
Hungarian in the right upper corner, and
the Hungarian inscription above given. Of
this card two secondaiy varieties are known,
and they complete the list of Hungarian
issues.

Iceland.

To the recent emission
for this country it is only
necessary to refer pro forma.
It will suffice to give a list
of the values and colours,
and to reproduce the type.

tri_r_n_n_Ti_[ ~— ~.

2 skillincr.

■I

blue.

grey.

rose.

brown.

yellow.

OFFICIAL STAMPS.

(Same design, but different inscription).
4 shilling, green.

8 „ mauve.

Ionian islands.

The trio of Ionian stamps belongs to the
early days of stamp-collecting. It is now
several years since, on the cessation of the
English protectorate, they were withdrawn
from service, together with
the English officials. All
-wl three values have now ob-
^o| tained a certain moderate
WSff, 'II degree of rarity, but the
^/■'M'\ set win be found in all old
$| collections. The colours are

flSS*SSir-.1 ag f0l]0Wg ; .

Orange (1 obolus).

Blue (2 oboli ).

Carmine-red (4 ,, ).

L£_

The blue has a reversed figure 2 for
watermark, supposed to have some reference
to the value, and the red a figure 1, for
which no explanation can be found ; whilst
the orange is destitute of watermark. This
series of stamps will certainly give rise to no
difference of opinion or exercise of judg-
ment in circulation. M. Berger-Levrault, it
is true, reported the existence of blue stamps
which appeared to be without waterniaivk,
but his conjecture has never been confirmed,
and not even M. Moens has succeeded in
discovering a noteworthy variation of shade;
hence this series does not boast of a single
"variety" of perforation, colour, or paper,
and philatelists of all classes can accept it
without difficulty in its entirety. The
stamps have never been reprinted ; not
improbably the dies were destroyed in 1864,
when the occasion for their employment
ceased; and I have never even seen it stated
by whom they were engi-aved. The type is
very simple but very carefully executed, and
the fine border-pattern reminds one of the
English penny. Of forgeries there are
plenty, but all I have seen -are coarse
lithographs, which could not '; hold a
candle " to the genuine impressions.

Italn.

The last emission for Piedmont — or as it
is generally, but, to my mind, erroneously,
termed, Sardinia — remained in use for some
time after the assumption by Victor Emanuel
of the title of King of Italy ; but in the
present paper it will I think be preferable
to treat only of the stamps on which the
change of title and extension of territory'
are indicated by the inscription. The first
stamp answering to this description is a
poor lithographic design, represented below
— the 15 c. blue. This is
inscribed franco bollo post-
ale italiano. It was issued
on the 12th October, 1863,
and, to judge from appear-
ances, must have been in use
a long while, although offici-
ally superseded in December
of the same year by the series which bears
the suggestive inscription poste italiane.
That series is still in use, and calls for only

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

181

[jpflflpig^

a brief notice. During the ten years in
which it has been current some slight acci-
dental alterations in shade have taken place,
but they are hardly worth
attention. The designs
themselves appear to have
suffered very little, if any,
deterioration from the con-
tinued wear and tear to
which the dies have been
subjected; though one value,
it is true — the 15 c. — was
damaged at the time it was surcharged,
and the retouching of the die gave rise to
two varieties which are not without interest.
All the designs are in De La Rue's best
style, and the series as a whole must be
pronounced an effective one. As originally
issued it stood as follows : —

5 centeshni,

greyish green

buff.

blue.

brown.

carmine.

lilac.

2 lire,

rosy red.

JOURNAL

STAMP.

1 centesimo, sea-green.

In 1864 the state of the postal finances
called for an increase in the rate for inter-
nal correspondence, from 15 centesimi to
20 centesimi for single- weight letters; and
to provide a stamp answering to the ad-
vanced rate, the 15 c. was surcharged with
a semicircular bar, obliterating the original
inscription of value, and with numeral and
letter in the corners. The opportunity was
also taken advantage of to print this value
in a darker shade — a kind of slate-blue.
It was whilst the surcharging was in pro-
gress in London that an accident happened
to the die, and the flaw thereby occasioned
was concealed, pursuant to instructions from
the Italian post-office, by the addition of
four white dots in the oval frame — two on
either side the portrait. These dots will
be found, respectively, above and below the
little ornament in the frame which separates
the inscription in the upper from that in
the lower half. From the original announce-
ment of this addition in The Stamj)- Collector's

Magazine for 1865 ,(P- 54), it would appear
that the accident took place prior to the
surcharging, and that copies of the 15 c.
unsurcharged exist with the four dots ; but
this is certainly not the case, for I have
myself a surcharged specimen without the
dots, and in all the catalogues the four-dot
variety is figured as a 20 c. Later on, a
second accident happened, and eight more
dots were added, making twelve in all.
The eight are scattered about in the frame-
work, "two in the left-hand upper part
of the stamp, between po and after e, and
on the right between al and below the
letter N ; in the left-hand lower part between
the letters vi, and also the CI, and on the
right between the en and under the first I
in centesimi." In 1867 this provisional
stamp finally g'ave way to the current 20 c.
of which the type is special to that value.
This stamp exists in two
well-defined and admis-
sible shades — very light
and very dark blue. It is
a clearly designed stamp,
but can hardly be com-
pared with the others
for richness of ornament.
The 10 c. has been issued
in a very dark reddish yellow, and the 60 c.
in bright lilac.

The 1 c. journal stamp — a gracefully
executed stamp — was joined in 1865 by the
2 c, of which two tolerably clear shades
exist — brown and dark brown.

POSTAL

---^-

-■

■1— 1

-J

$.m

"-*'■ •*#

IX'
o

(

***

2 0C

' nt. .

□

UNPAID LETTER STAMPS.

The unpaid letter stamps are not ne-
cessarily used only for letters which, presu-
mably through the sender's neglect, have
not been prepaid. Prior to the Roman
occupation, at any rate, they were apposed
at the frontier post-office on letters from
the Papal States, as for lack of a convention

182

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

between the two countries, the Papal stamps
only prepaid as far as the frontier. No
doubt at present the " segna-tasse " stamps
are used in some analogous manner, other-
wise it is difficult to see what employment
could be found for the high values, used
specimens of which are, however, very com-
mon. The first " segna-tasse " stamp, issued
in 1863, was a very mean-looking affair,
yet it remained current
six years, and two varieties
of it are collected — lemon
and orange. In 1869 it
was superseded by a care-
fully engraved but not over
legible type (reproduced
below), and in 1870 the current series came
gradually into use, with
the exception of the 10
c, which was not issued
until the succeeding
year, in order to give
time for the exhaustion
of the 1869 stock.
The 1 c, 2 c, 5 o..

10 c, 30 c, 40 c, 50 c,
and 60 c. have the
numeral of value
struck in carmine, and
the frame buff. The
1 lira and 2 lire have
the figure in brown
and the frame in blue,
one frame sufficing for the whole of the
values in centcsimi, and one for the two
values in lire, as is plain by noticing that
the 1 centesimo reads 1 CENTESIMI, and the
1 lira reads 1 like.

CORRIGENDA.
Holland. — Thanks to a communication
from Mr. C. van Rinsum, I am able to
correct an erroneous statement with regard
to the issue of the first post cards. The
stamped and unstamped cards both came
into use on the same day — the 1st January,
1871. The unstamped card, value one half
cent, is still in circulation and is used for
communications to foi*eign countries ; an
adhesive stamp of the necessary value being
apposed to cover the postage. I was not
previously aware of the existence of any

convention sanctioning the exchange of post
cards between Holland and other countries,
and should like to know what are .the
countries with which this arrangement is
in force.

EXTRACTS FROM MY PRIVATE
NOTE BOOK.

BY ('. H. C03TER.

As may be surmised from the title, the
object of these papers is to present, in a
clear and concise form, sundry items of
intei^est collected from time to time, and
likely to prove useful to the philatelic com-
munity, and especially to those who devote
particular attention to the stamps of the
United States, including those of the "Con-
federacy."

We will commence by considering some of
the postal labels issued by postmasters in
the Southern States during the late k" un-
pleasantness." First on the list comes the
one for

Ringgold, Georgia. — This is a recent re-
suscitation made by Mr. William P. Brown,
the well-known dealer, and although by no
means "a thing of beauty," it is likely to
prove "a joy for ever " to the fortunate pos-
sessor of the only known specimen. It is a
very imperfectly handstruck impression on
an ordinary buff envelope. The design con-
sists of three concentric circles, of which the
innermost surrounds what looks like a letter
0 surmounted by some soil of very rough
ornamentation (possibly a cannon and fl
may be intended). The second circle bears
the inscription, RINGGOLD, GEORGIA, and the
third, what I take to be c. s. POSTAGE (al-
though only c. s. r. is visible) above, and
five cents below.

Marion, Virginia. — I have a letter from
J. H. Francis, formerly postmaster of
Marion, to W. P. Brown, Esq., dated about
two years ago, in which he states that the
stamps issued by him were of the values of
5 c, 10 c, 15 c, and 20 c. Under these
circumstances, are not the " recently dis-
covered, though undoubtedly genuine," 2 c.
and 3 c. rather suspicious-looking customers,
especially as the die is still in existence, so
that these additional values could easily be

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

183

" prepared to order ? " What a wonderfully
careful man the postmaster at Marion must
have been to preserve all these uncancelled
specimens, so that they look as fresh to-day
as they did twelve years ago ! Almost as
curious as the way in which somebody's
grandmother or grandfather (I am not good
at relationships, but the principle is all the
same) put away those stamps of Fredericks-
burg,— and in some sort of an " official
envelope " too, so that of course their au-
thenticity is at once placed beyond a shadow
of a doubt.

Knoxtille, Tennessee. — I have recently
met with two very good imitations of the
circular stamp for this city, and append a
list of the most salient points of difference.

Of the three or-
naments on the
left-hand side of
the circle, the
lower half of the
top one is very
imperfectly form-
ed ; in fact, the
hottoin stroke is
almost altogether
wanting.

In each orna-
ment the lines
separating the
four dots are vi-
sibly curved.

Take the upper
half of the x

of KNOXVILLE.

There is no curve
at the end of the
hair line on the
inside of the left-
hand stroke.

The o of POS-
TAGE is not very
perfectly formed.

COUNTERFEIT A.

All the orna-
ments on the left-
hand side appear
perfect, but the
middle one on the
right - hand is
broken at the
bottom.

The lines are
nearly, if not
quite straight.

There is a curve
at the end of the
hair line, which
nearly touches the
curve from the
right-hand side.

0 of POSTAGE
is very broken
and irregular, and
is also consider-
ably out of line
with the other
letters.

COUNTERFEIT B.

All the orna-
ments are per-
fectly formed, but
those on the right-
hand side are con-
siderably lower
than those on the
left.

The lines are
very straight, es-
pecially on the
right-hand side.

The curve quite
touches the curve
from the right-
hand side.

No period be-
tween " c s " ;
o of postage is
not closed at top,
but it is otherwise
perfectly formed.
It is somewhat
out of line with
the other letters,
and is very far
separated from
the s. There is
a small dot under
the C.

Athens, Georgia. — At Messrs. J. W. Scott
& Co.'s last auction sale I bought a copy of

this stamp, which turns out, on examination,
to be very different from an undoubtedly
genuine specimen to which I have access.
It may be that both are genuine varieties,
but is it not a rather peculiar circumstance
that while the auction variety is compara-
tively common, the other is of the greatest
rarity P

I will proceed to point out a few of the
leading differences.

auction.

The D is out of
all proportion.

The one on the
left is nearly on a
line with the top
of the word paid,
but the one on the
right is a good
deal too low.

Continue the line under paid There are five
across the stamp on both sides, and below and seven

undoubtedly genuine.

paid. — All the letters are about
the same size.

Stars. — One on the right and one
on the left are about on a line with
the top of the word paid.

you will find six stars below and
six above.

A star is dii-ectly under the middle
of m of "p. M."

Those odd - looking ornaments,
something like a flattened-out 8, are
about twice as long on one side as
on the other.

A line drawn perpendicularly from
the w of craavfokd, would strike the

E of ATHENS.

The stamp is surrounded by two
well-defined, perfectly-formed white
lines, never touching each other, but
always separated by a line in the
colour of the stamp.

above.

Star is directly
under the first
stroke of m, and
the engraver'stool
seems to have slip-
ped, so that the
first stroke is con-
tinued beyond its
proper distance,
and touches the
star.

About the same
size on each side.

A line from the

O of CRAWFORD

would strike the s

Of ATHENS.

The stamp is
surrounded by two
fine lines, very
irregular and fre-
quently merging
into each other.

The genuine comes printed in red, also in
dull mauve ; the auction variety in a pecu-
liarly plastery mauve.

Pleasant Shade, Virginia. — The genuine
is in every respect identical with type II. of
the Petersburg stamp (which has been the
subject of so much discussion), with the

184

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

exception that pleasant shade is substituted
for Petersburg, and R E Davis P M. for
W. E. Bass, P. M., and the fleur-de-lis on
each side of Virginia is dropped.

The punctuation, or lack of punctuation,
of " R. E. Davis, P. M." is as given above,
and alike in both genuine and counterfeit.

The lettering of the word post-office is
very different in the genuine from that of
the imitation, though the only describable
point of variance is in the S, which is very
peculiar in the latter, it being finished off by
a stroke which has very much the appear-
ance of a comma.

IN THE GENUINE.

A line drawn across the stamp from
the break between the first and second
fleur-de-lis, would intersect pleasant

SHADE.

In the word Virginia the tail of
the G does not extend perceptibly on
either side further than the bowl of
that letter.

The ornaments below Virginia
meet the side frames on either side,
directly opposite the dot at the end of
the central line of the third fleur-de-
lis.

The first row of ornaments below
rosT-OFFiCE meets the side frames
just above the break between the fifth
and sixth fleur-de-lis.

The ornaments on the left-hand of
the figure 5 meet the side frames just
above the break between the seventh
and eighth fleur-de-lis.

N.B.— Owing to there being several
varieties in the arrangement of the
ornaments on the right-hand side in
the genuine, no test can be given.

The ornaments above R. E. Davis,
P.M., meet the side frames above the
break between the seventh and eight
fleur-de-lis.

IN THE COUNTER-
FEIT.

A line from the
central stroke of
the first fleur-de-
lis would intersect

PLEASANT SHADE.

The tail of the
G extends con-
siderably on either
side, and indeed
the entire word
Virginia is larger
type than in the
genuine.

They meet the
side frames almost
opposite the break
between the se-
cond and third
fleur-de-lis.

They meet the
side frames op-
posite the central
stroke of the fifth
fleur-de-lis.

They meet the
side frames direct-
ly opposite the
central stroke of
the seventh fleur-
de-lis.

The ornaments
meet the side
frames opposite
the eighth fleur-
de-lis.

INTERNATIONAL POST CARDS.

Although the issue of cards specially do-
signed for international transmission has
not yet become an accomplished fact, it is
evident that it will not be long delayed.
It will be remembered that a short tim -
since it was rumoured that postal cards for
correspondence between this country and
the United States were to be emitted ; then
again it was stated that 2 cent cards were
being prepared for use between Canada and
the United States. These reports have been
contradicted, but they were certainly only
the shadows of coming events, as the fol-
lowing official notice, with regard to com-
munications between the States and New-
foundland, will testify.

Tost Office Department,

Office of Foreign Mails,

Washington, D. C, Sept. 26, 1873,

An arrangement has just been concluded between the
United States and Newfoundland, providing that on and
after the first of October, 1873, United States postal cards
mailed at any post-office in the United States, and
addressed to Newfoundland, and Newfoundland postal
cards mailed at any post office in Newfoundland, and ad-
dressed to the United States, when prepaid an additional
postage of one cent by affixing thereto ait ordinary one
cent postage stamp of the country of origin, in addition
to the stamp printed or impressed mi the card, shall be
reciprocally forwarded and delivered in the country of
destination free of cbarge.

Postal cards of either country, when not so prepaid,
will not be forwarded in the mails between the two
countries.

The regulations and instructions governing the use
and treatment of postal cards in the domestic mails of
the United States and of Newfoundland, respectively,
are equally applicable to the postal cards mailed in
either country, and addressed t<> the other country.

Postmasters are instructed to carry this arrangement
into operation on and after the 1st of October, 1873.

By order of the Postmaster General.

Joseph II. Blackfan,

Superintendent.

Who can doubt but that, to save the
trouble of adding an adhesive to the im-
pressed stamp, special cards will soon be
prepared, nor that ere long the system will
be considerably spread? Already, as appears
from a statement in our correspondence
columns, the exchange of post cards, with an
extra low value adhesive affixed, is permitted
between Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
Decidedly among approaching postal inno-
vations, intei*national post cards hold the
first place.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

185

NEWLY-ISSUED OR
STAMPS.

INEDITED

Tolima. — The annexed type, discovered at
the beginning of the present year, was
generally admitted to be
of doubtful value, and
was condemned by our
Belgian confrere. We,
however, have just re-
ceived from a trustworthy
source, a specimen of a
15 centavos black, of the
same type. It is on an
envelope, side by side
with the current 5 c. dark green Antioquia,
and both stamps are obliterated by the same
postmarks. This conjunction of two stamps
of different states is in itself remarkable,
and deserves explanation. The obliteratbns

consist (1) of a large double circle with an
exterior diameter of about 14 in., with par-
tially illegible circular inscription ; (2) of
the word franco in large Roman capitals, in
a straight line. Their genuineness appears
to us to be unquestionable; and this much
granted, the genuineness of the Tolima stamp
follows. The 20 e. stamp of this type, here
represented, and which we have not seen,
was described by the editor of The Philatelist
as rouletted, but the 15 c. black shows no
sign of the roulette. Moreover, in our
engraving, which is a fac- simile of the one
given in The Philatelist, ten stars are shown
above the condor ; in the 15 c. stamp there
are only seven, and the arms are consider-
ably smaller, and not pointed at the base.
Apart from these distinctions our engraving
accurately represents the type, which is
probably in reality common to both.

Bolivar — From the information which
accompanied the specimen of the new 80 c.
described last month, we erroneously in-
ferred that the design of that value, repro-
duced above pour memoir e, was common to
the entire series. We are now, however,
happy to be able to give illustrations of the
three other denominations, each of which
forms a different tyj)e. Of the four stamps,
the 5 c. is perhaps the most remarkable, for
its lateral inscriptions give the design the
appearance of being printed in a continuous
strip. JS"o doubt the series is a newly-issued
one, which replaces the insignificant set
previously known.

Brazil. — We learn from our Rio cor-
respondent, that there is a likelihood of a
new series of postage stamps being issued,
as the present postmaster does not view the
existing series with favour, considering the
stamps — and especially the 20 reis and 200
reis — to be too large and unhandy.

Danish West Indies. — The annexed type
is destined, according to Lo Timbre-Poste, in
six months time, to super-
sede the very homely
fac- similes of the original
Danish design, which have
so long been in use in St.
Thomas. The new stamps
are modelled on the current
Danish; paper, perforation,
and watermarks are the
same in both. The inscription dansk-vesttn-
diske is intelligible, but we are not at all
clear as to the meaning of the concluding
word oer. The values and colours of the
forthcoming series are :

1 cent, frame, green; centre, violet.

3 „ ,, blue ; ,, carmine-rose.

4 ,, ,, brown ; ,, blue.
14 „ „ lilac; „ green.

These stamps will prove pleasing additions

186

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

to a page which has hitherto been conspicu-
ous for its dulness.

Spain. — The annexed cut represents the
design of the impressed stamp on the
Spanish Republic post card.
With reference to our remarks
respecting the prominence
given to the lion in this type,
a valued correspondent writes
to say, that the lion has always
formed part of the Spanish
arms. This we did not con-
test, but we are surprised at his being repre-
sented to the exclusion of the other bearings.
To the same correspondent we are indebted
for a sight of the new reply-paid card,
which, like the single one, is intended to
come into use on the 1st of January. The
new card is the same size as its single
brother. On the latter the inscription reads
targeta postal, on the double it is written
tarjeta postal. The orthographical error
was pointed out by Sehor M. P. de Figueroa,
and, thanks to him, it has not been re-
peated. The general disposition of the
reply-paid type is the same as that on the
ordinary card, but the stamps are not the
same. The half intended to be used by the
sender bears a new design, consisting of the
bust of Liberty surmounted by the tradi-
tional cap. Along the upper margin of the
card runs the inscription contestacton pa-
GADA. tarjeta de ida. The first two words
signify reply-paid ; the latter are difficult to
ti'anslate, but may be rendered as "outward
card," or "card to be sent." On the second
half the words contestacion pagada are re-
peated, and are followed by tarjeta de
vuelta, or " return card." The stamp on
the reply half resembles that on the ordinary
cards in having a figure 5 in the centre, but
the lion and bust of Liberty are omitted.
In both halves the stamp and frame are
printed green and the lettering black.

Our conti-ibutor also sends us some od-
dities which have passed the Spanish post.
They are none other than the full size
engravings of Californian local envelopes
cut out from pages 150 and 151 of the last
volume of The Stamp-Collector's Magazine,
pasted on cardboard, franked by stamps of
the Amadeus and current series, addressed

on the front, and, after the fashion of ordi-
nary post cards, bearing communications on
the reverse.

Ecuador. — Rehabilitation seems to be the
order of the day. The genuineness of the
three stamps referred to in our last, and
originally described in our January number,
is now admitted on all sides. We do not,
however, regret having originally entertained
grave suspicions as to their character. In
the present day the extremest caution is
necessary in accepting unaccredited in-
dividuals from far-off countries, as a recent
example has proved.

Sierra Leone. — A correspondent of M.
Moens's informs him he has seen a 2d.
bright violet-red, of the same type as the
four recently issued stamps.

Nicaragua. — Just two years ago, the issue
of the one centavo brown was announced as
an accomplished fact, and a few specimens,
we believe, reached this country, but since
then but little has been heard of it. Our
publishers, however, have at length received
a supply, and there can now be no doubt that
this value is in circulation. On examining
the new comer, we find that some portions of
the landscape have been cut away, the length
and breadth of the space enclosed by the
external frame being considerably smaller.
This results from the shape of the frame.
There are four large disks at the corners, and
in order to get the straight borders between
them on a level with the centres of these disks,
it has been necessary to encroach on the
design. Together with the 1 c. brown, our
publishers have received supplies of the 2 c.
blue, and 5 c. black. These stamps are now
printed on a pure white paper, and the sun
and clouds have been erased from the 5c,
leaving the entire space above the mountain-
line blank. The 2 c, it should also be ob-
served, is printed in a much lighter blue, of
a shade quite different from that of the pre-
vious issue.

Heligoland.— It is now stated that the
j sch. with carmine disk, white spandrels,
and green border, supersedes the same
value with carmine border and green disk ;
if so, the latter, by reason of its brief
currency, will probably become in time very
scarce, provided no reprints be made.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

187

3EMCKASH0TTA
HJIATA 5'-? Eon

Russian Locals. — Toula (Toula). — Of the
annexed engravings the upper one represents
the design of a
stamp embossed in
white relief on the
flaps of the enve-
lopes issued by the
Toula post ; the
lower, a blue stamp,
handstruck on the
reverse of the en-
velopes. The latter
are of different sizes
and tints. The in-
scription on the cir-
cular impression sig-
nifies Seal of the
administration of the district of Toula ; that on
the oblong stamp — Rural post, payment of
5 Jcopelcs. These stamps are introduced by
M. Moens, as is also the following : —

Woltsc~han.sk (Charkoff). — There was some
doubt as to the district from which this type

emanates. It
was stated at
first to have
come from
Wolynka
(Tchernigoff ),
but later in-
telligence,

which M. Moens has obligingly communi-
cated to us, is to the effect that the stamp
belongs to the Woltschansk district. The
specimen from which our engraving was
taken has been for upwards of a year in the
possession of a correspondent of M. Moens,
residing at Rome, and bears an indistinct
obliteration. The impression is in black,
with white lettering and frame, on a red
ground ; the animal, whatever it may be, is
on a yellow ground.

Kotelnitsch. — M. Moens, in the current
number of Le Timbre-Poste, gives the correct
history of the Kotelnitsch emissions, ac-
companied by some interesting details,
which we purpose reproducing in extenso in
our next. Suffice it to say at present, that
the suppression of these little known stamps
was due to the decision of the district
authorities, to deliver the rural correspond-
ence free of charge !

Argentine Republic. — By the kindness of
" A London Collector," who has communi-
cated the specimens to us, we are enabled to
present engravings of the
three new stamps of this
Republic. They are all
distinguished by the high
degree of finish and general
artistic excellence which
characterises the produc-
tions of the New York
companies, and the effigies
they contain form a further contribution to
the portrait gallery of the heroes of South
American independence. In another part of
the present number we give a list of the
names of these worthies ; we, therefore,
need only repeat the mention already made
of the colours, which are as follows : —

30 (treinta) centavos, orange.
60 (sesenta) „ black.

90 (noventa) ,, blue.

The emission took place on tie 10th
October last.

Germany. — Reply-paid cards — § gr. x
\ gr., and 2 kr. x 2 kr., have appeared.
They differ from the ordinary cards in
having a narrower frame.

Finland. — We learn from Le Timbre-Poste
that in order to utilise the stock of post
cards of the second type, the notice they
bear has been completed by the surcharge
in black of the inscriptions, in three lan-
guages, across the left-hand side of the
card.

Switzerland. — The same authority states
that the 30 c. envelope, stamp to left, is
issued without the watermark, the metallic
design from which it is obtained being worn
down to an unserviceable state. A corre-
spondent, whose letter we publish, denies
the statement quoted by us from the Gazette,

188

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

to the effect that 1 gr. German stamps are
used to prepay letters from Switzerland to
Germany. We are indebted also to this
correspondent for the communication of a
hitherto unnoticed Swiss official post card.
It is very plain, and bears no impressed
stamp. Oil the right is a dotted inscribed
circle, to receive the stamp of the issuing
department, and on the left a similar circle
to receive the postmark. Between these is
the inscription : —

nr. 4337.
carte-correspondance.
officiel.
Below which, in three languages — French
German, and Italian — comes the notice that
correspondence not entitled to free trans-
mission will not be forwarded. Then come
the lines for the address, which complete the
design, if so it may be called. The card is
of a French-grey tint, and rather thin.

Shanghai. — The diagonal surcharge 1 cand.
has been struck in bluish black on the 2 c,
4 c, and 8 c. stamps. The surcharge no-
ticed some months since wTas in pale blue
on the 4 cents.

Philippines. — The " Habilitado " varieties
for this colony now form a numerous series.
The surcharge is applied to the obsolete
types, which are being reissued, because, as
M. Moens explains, the home government at
present has so many grave affairs on hand,
that it can spare no time to forward supplies
of the new stamps to the colony. Hence the
10 c. rose of 1859 (4 varieties) has re-
appeared, and also the 2 rls. blue of the 1863
type, — all duly surcharged.

Victoria.— Mr. D. H. Hill, of the Trea-
sury, Melbourne, has obligingly forwarded
ns, by the last mail, a specimen of a new
twopenny stamp for this colony. The
design consists of the usual profile of Queen
to left in a broad oval, containing white
inscribed labels above and below, and re-
ticulated pattern at sides ; a Greek-pat-
terned ornament occupies each angle ; —
presenting altogether rather an effective
appearance, though roughly executed. The
watermark is a V and crown, and the stamp
is printed a bright mauve, and perforated.
We intend to give an engraving of this new
arrival in the January number.

United States. — In the specimen plate of
illustrations of Mr. Pemberton's catalogue
is an engraving of the two-dollar stamp Eor
the Department of State, — a very handsome
design. It is an upright rectangle, mea-
suring nearly 2 in. by 1 in., and has a large
sized bust of Seward in an oval in the
centre, a bundle of fasces on either side,
u. s. A. in the lower spandrels, department
OF state in two arched lines above the
portrait, and the value in words in the
lower margin. The bust and the oval
ground are in black, the rest of the stamp
is green. There are three other values of
the same design and colours, viz., $5, $10,
and $20.

Cabul. — From advance sheets of Messrs.
Grant's circular, kindly communicated to us,
we clip the following information :

We have been favoured with the loan of five stamps,
stated to have been issued by the Ameer of Cabul early
this year. They are circular ; but the round appearance
is taken off by sundrv ornaments outside the circle. The
centre of each contains a tiger's head, and the value in
Indian characters. They are all alike, but separately
engraved, and the circular disc around the head is em-
bellished by a flowing tracery, over which characters are
engraved. This is similar to the ground-work of the rare
Koorshedjah, and to that which fills the centre of the one
anna oblong Deccan, and is essentially oriental. The
value is in the centre ; in the three lowest values, above
the tiger's head ; in the two highest, below it. There are —

1 anna, black on thick white laid.

2 „ „
4 „

8 ,, inarone) ,-, . » ■■ ,

1 runee J on paper, unsurfaced, no watermark .

The 1 anna and 2 anna both show dotted circles ; the 4
anna shows only the outer one dotted ; whilst the 8 anna
and 1 rupee have only plain circles.

Natal. — From the same source we learn
that the sixpence has appeared with pi -
surcharged on each side, to match the Id.
and 3d. The use of the lilac shilling (which
is a fiscal), with postage surcharged on it,
is mostly provisional ; and the new batch of
green Is. will probably bear postage on each
side, and complete the set.

Griqtjalaxd Wkst. — There appears to
be some chance of the issue of a series of
stamps for this district, better known as the
Diamond Fields. We refer our readers, for
information as to the present postal ar-
rangements there, to the letter from Mr.
Pemberton's correspondent, published in
the above-named circular.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

189

South African Republic. — The same
publication states that the shilling stamps,
cut in half, are doing duty as sixpenny
stamps, and with regard to the solitary
emission for

Fernando Po, it declares that " the
stamp is most undoubtedly genuine," adding,
" We know of many cases where they have
been taken from letters, and can produce
evidence of the fact." This statement is
confirmed by Mr. Ysasi, to whom in this matter
we owe the amende lionorable. The stamp, it
appears, was only in use for a few months in
the course of 1868, which would account for
its extreme rarity.

Saint Helena. — -At last, says Messrs.
Grant & Co.'s circular, the sixpence bears
the C.C. and crown watermark, and is so
issued in slate blue.

Mexico. — The stamps of the current issue
are now coming over in deeper and richer
colours.

Roumania. — The stamps of this country
are printed in brighter shades.

Japan. — The 1 sen. now comes over in
pale blue and in indigo.

South Australia. — ■ The ninepence is
printed dull mauve.

OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

The Philatelist. — In the article on recent
and undescribed emissions we find a refer-
ence to the curious Jerusalem postmark
described some months since. A correspond-
ent has forwarded to the editor a portion of
an envelope bearing this mark. This time
the impression is on thin blue laid paper,
and is unmistakably handstamped ; had it
been on thick, white paper, such as described
by M. Moens, and cut out, it might easily
have been mistaken for a postage stamp. In
the usual place for adhesives, on the same
envelope, were an 80 c. of the French Empire,
and a 40 c. perf . of the Republic. The post-
mark in question is independent of these,
and its lack of value as a mark of prepay-
ment is now established. In the same
article two more of the mysterious designs
which our contemporary arbitrarily de-
signates " Colonial Essays " are described.
The only noteworthy item in "The Philatelic

Press " is one to the effect, that Dr. Magnus
has not, as we had been given to under-
stand, withdrawn from the editorship of the
Gazette, but is, on the contrary, " as actively
engaged thereon as ever." " The Spud
Papers " are occupied this month with
descriptions of forg*eries of the 90 cents
United States, the first 3 pfennige and the
10 neugroschen Saxon, and the Guatemala
set. With respect to the former, the Rev.
R. B. Earee pithily observes, "As regards
general appearance, if the unlearned ama-
teur meet with a copy coarsely perforated,
on very white paper, with a very dark
background, and a staring white cravat,
he need not stop to enquire any further,
but gently murmuring his watchword of
' Spiro,' he can pass on with untouched
pockets." The two Saxon stamps should
certainly be pixrchased only from well-
known dealers. The forgeries are very fine,
that of the lO^n.gr. being especially re-
markable for its accuracy. The Gruatemala
imitations are respectable, but whereas the
genuine stamp shows the sun, with eyes,
nose, and mouth, and surrounded by 36
bright rays, in the forgeries the sun has
only three dots, representing eyes and
mouth, and there are 41 bright rays round
it. " A few Words on the Stamps of New
Granada" is the title of an article, by
"Warden," treating of the period of cur-
rency of the 5 c. (1859) on laid paper,
referred to by "Amateur" in our October
number. The remaining contents of the
number do not call for special notice.

Le Timbre-Poste for November opens with
a strong list of novelties, followed by a short
article on the Kotelnitsch stamps referred to
elsewhere, and a further instalment of Dr.
Magnus's valuable monograph on stamped
envelopes. The number winds up with the
following nouvelle d sensation : " Several
times a rumour has reached us of the
existence of a green 3 kr. stamp of the office
of Thurn and Taxis. Our efforts to discover
it having always proved fruitless, and no
information of any kind being forthcoming,
we have taken no notice of the report, pre-
ferring to wait until the opportunity might
arise of testing its truth. The existence of
the stamp is now confirmed by the produc-

190

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

tion of a specimen, which has been handed
to us by Mr. Hans Jordan, accompanied by
the following details : — ' I remark that in
your catalogue you do not mention a 3
kreuzer stamp of Thnrn and Taxis, printed
by error in green (instead of blue), on white
paper, and that it has never been referred
to in your journal. The stamp, however,
mav be found in several German albums
and in Paris. I herewith enclose you one
of a few specimens which I obtained some
years since from a postal official. The
stamp distributor having sold the greater
part of the sheet of green 3 kr. in the
evening, did not perceive the difference in
colour, until the following day, when
making up his books. The remainder was
at once disposed of among collectors. I
have seen in a Swiss collector's album this
same 3 kr. green obliterated. The envelope,
with the stamp on it just as it passed the
post, has been preserved entire by him." "

The American Journal of Philately. — The
October number opens with a vindication of
the suspected Ecuador stamps. " The two
lower values," it says, " have come to us
from several sources that render all donbts
untenable." The number thus commenced,
closes with the exposure of an attempt to
swindle the publishers. They had received
a letter signed " Mary E. Chase," reading
as follows : " Sirs, I send you herewith a
number of duplicate stamps for exchange.
Please allow me all you can for them. 1
wish the following. * * * Send as soon as
possible, and oblige." The answer — which
Messrs. Scott have published, believing that
had they posted it, it would not have found
their lady correspondent — is cleverly pnt
together, and will convince Mr. S. A. Taylor
and his co-workers, that it is not so easy to
" sell " philatelists with bogus varieties, as
formerly. We give it in full for our readers'
amusement.

Dear Miss ? Our first surprise on receiving your letter
was the extraordinary confidence you reposed in dealers
whose address even you were unacquainted with. (It looks
so charmingly innocent, you know.) But of course this
was nothing to the surprise and pleasure with which we
looked over the stamps you so kindly sent us to exchange
for you. You are so liberal, you did not care much what
yo\i got for those beautiful St. Domingos; so charmingly
innocent, that you did not notice you wen- sending us
unchronicled varieties and values; so beautifully patient,

that you did not care what trouble you went to to make
the stamps look nice and the bogu> genuine ; but do,
please do, tell us what freak of youthful playfulness caused
you to run a penstroke across that set Swiss ? \vh_v did you
change the colour of the proof of the 2 cent Canada from
green to blue? We can understand your cleaning the
cancellation off the Nevis, Austrian, and Peru; but why
discolour the 2 centavos Lima stamp — don't the colour
stand acid ?

Why did you stick the genuine medio real St. Domingo
black on pink above the counterfeit of the same value,
blue on blue, and cancel them both together? and if
you thought they would look better if one was torn, why
did you tear the genuine ? and that bogus dos reals blue
on yellow stuck on a piece of a genuine letter ! Please
tell us how they managed to bend the cancelling stamp so
as to stamp round the corner. If you had left the paper
off the backs of the bogus St. Domingo, they would have
looked much mote natural, considering the company they
were with, and it was only waste to put such a good
stamp with the lot as the 10 c. red Confederate.

Next batch of St. Domingos you print, use thin paper,
such as is always used on the Island ; but first take a few
lessons of S. A. T., and then be sure and do not send
counterfeits to anyone over ten years old.

Will return the stamps after they have been on ex-
hibition a short time.

J. W~. SCOTT & CO.

In the article headed " Clippings," we
observe the reprint of a notice issued by the
Havana postmaster, warning the Cuban
public that forged .^O c. de peseta stamps
are in circulation, and giving four points oE
difference, by which they may be detected.
They are of a lighter colour, the engraving
is coarser, and the eyes of the portrait are
badly drawn, the left being smaller than the
right, and there being no trice of eyelids;
lastly, the border surrounding the bust is
shaded merely by a line. A collection of
Spanish and Cuban forgeries which have
passed the post would be an interesting
one.

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE ALLEGED USE OF GERMAN STAMP'S IN
SWITZERLAND.— RECIPROCAL EXCHANGE OP
POST CARDS BETWEEN SWITZERLAND, GER-
MANY, AND AUSTRIA.

To the Lditor of '"The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Deau Sin, — Be good enough to affirm that the intelli-
gence published by you in your October number (p. 151),
on the authority of M. P. Mahe, to the effect, that, in
consequence of a convention between Germany and
Switzerland, the postage of letters from Switzerland to
Germany had been reduced to \'1\ centimes, and might
be prepaid by means of German one-groschen stamps, is
totally unfounded. The postage of a letter from Switzer-
land to Germany costs 25 centimes, and can only be
prepaid in Swiss stamps. Letters otherwise stamped
can only have passed the post untaxed, through their
having been overlooked by the officials.

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

191

On the other hand, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany
have given an international character to their respective
post cards, by permitting their reciprocal transmission
from one country to another, provided a supplementary
adhesive stamp, of the value (as the case may be) of
5 centimes, | groschen. or 2 kreuzers, be attached.
Dear Sirs,

Yours obediently,

A. R.

ROUMANIAN POST CARDS.
To the Editor of" The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — In the November number of your maga-
zine, under " Newly-issued or Inedited Stamps," I notice
a few mistakes concerning the number of Roumanian
post cards issued, which allow me to correct by appending
the following extract from an official letter I received
from Bucharest on 14th October : -

" The white cards (which were only issued as an
elegant commencement*) have long since been used up.
The decree authorised their issue (3000 single and 2000
double) for 13th June, and they just lasted until the end
of that month, when they were followed by those now
in use, of which 20,000 single and 10,000 double were
prepared. This stock, too, will be exhausted in a few
days, and replaced by a third issue, same type as first and
present, only printed on finer card, of a rather yellower
hue. 90,000 of these are already piinted."

According to this, the second issue consisted of 30,000,
instead of 45.000, as stated by M. Moens (from whom
you quote) ; the third of 90,000, and not 70,000 ; and if
the three issues are identical in type, how is it that M.
Moens chronicles a third issue, " same as last, only arms
smaller" ? It may also be concluded from the above that
the dates of issue were: 13th June, 1st July, and about
15th October (though I have not yet hem the third) ; and
furthermore, that the third lot were not issued when
M. Moens chronicled them in September.

Another, but an unofficial, correspondent informs me,
in a letter dated 1st November, that on the 1st of
January, 1874, "Foreign Post Cards," — i.e., cards for
extra-provincial correspondence, — will be issued. Let us
hope they will be better looking than the present
" inland" eards — at least, be printed on white.
I remain, vours tiuly,

A LONDON COLLECTOR.

P.S. — Since writing the above, I haveseen the third issue.
The arms differ in the following points, 1st quarter, azure,
not argent ; ornaments between the supporters meet, in-
instead of starting from centre ; the motto is in one bend
only ; the mantle squarer at bottom ; more folds at side,
and the engraving of the whole altogether finer.

OBLITERATED COPIES OF RARE STAMPS.

To the Editor o/" The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Dear Sir, — The answers to Mr. Killick's queries must
be of interest to a great many, and I think I can give a
little information that, if not new, may be comparatively
unknown, but that which is useful will always bear
repetition. As to the list of stamps which he never knew
to have been seen used, two of the individuals do not fall
under the category of postage stamps, viz. :

Great Britain. V. R.

Spain, 1857, 12 cuartos,
as both were essays, and never issued to the public.

Opinions are divided as to the claim of the 5 c. Connell
to the name of postage stamp, as some maintain that it
was never used, whilst others as firmly believe that it had
a circulation of one or two days ; and as a mere matter of
opinion I incline to the latter view, and have seen what
appeared to me a specimen authentically obliterated. It
must be borne in mind that the Connell, as prepared for
issue, and as stated to have been issued for the one or two
days, was perforated by the same machine which operated
on the legal issue. Consequently a Connell to be duly
qualified as a postal (and not an essay) must show a like
perforation as the rest of the series ; those without per-
foration are essays, and many, if not all, are reprints.

Another stamp on the list which hardly seems to me
to have a legal right to the name is the Hamburg 7 sch.,
imperf., mauve, for this seems to have been a proof,
though nothing was to prevent its use on a letter so far
as I can see.

Reunions I never remember to have seen obliterated ;*
neither the early Bergedorfs, nor the Bolivia 500 c , though
this can in no way militate against them as postage
stamps.

Certain countries never (to my knowledge) used any
" postmark " proper, but confined themselves exclusively
to a pen-and-ink obliteration. Both Bolivar and Fiji
Times are only known with pen-and-ink cancellations,
and the same holds good with Tolima and Cundinamarca,
although Mr. Killick does not ask about these two last.
The whole of the remaining stamps are known with
genuine obliterations; and many, if not all, are extremely
scarce, though the rarest of all is of course the twelvepence
Canada. Essays and reprints of this stamp are plentiful
enough ; the real old specimens issued to the public were
upon paper similar to that used for the rest of the pence
series, but there cannot be above a dozen known specimens
in existence, if so many. The green 2 annas India, head
in oval, is another invaluable stamp when found post-
marked, but the specimens of the Pacific Steam Naviga-
tion Company's stamps, of the genuine issue of 1856, on
blued paper, similar to our old penny (red) English, are
equally rare.

In conclusion, I think the study of obliterated speci-
mens is somewhat neglected. As the writer of "Notes
for Collectors" justly observes, of manv stamps we can
learn nothing beyond what they teach us themselves,
and the possession of curious or dated postmarks will often
lead to the discovery of some fact unsuspected in the
history of the stamp.

Yours faithfully,

Dawlish. EDWARD L. PEMBERTON.

THE UNITED STATES LOCALS.

To the Editor of '"The Stamp-Collector's Magazine."

Sir, — These much slighted and little understood stamps
seem, by degrees, to be attracting public favour, and the
more they are studied and discussed, the more interesting
do they appear to be. Of course there are in circulation
impostors and mongrels, hitherto received by too confiding
collectors, which should be weeded out from among the
deserving candidates for a place in our albums ; and,
moreover, it cannot be denied that most of us have to be
satisfied with reprints or close imitations of the, in some
instances, almost unattainable originals. Still, with this
drawback, and inferiority in intrinsic value — which,

* [We have seen a copy of the 15 c. with a pen-and-ink
obliteration. — Ed.]

192

THE STAMP-COLLECTOR'S MAGAZINE.

however, if at all, can best be tolerated in a local — there
is much left to interest and repay the persevering
collector, and, it raay be truly added, much also to
puzzle any ordinary set of brains. One of the " reasons
why," which I, for one, have hitherto been unable to
fathom to my own satisfaction, is tin1 apparently mean-
ingless inscription on some of the best accredited locals —
penny post — and yet no such coin as a penny is current
in Uncle Gain's territory. For instance, "Honour's
Penny Post," " Blood's Penny Post," and several others
equally authentic. I can only surmise that it is a sort of
idiom adopted from the old country; yet our go-ahead
transatlantic cousins arc not, as a rule, given to copy our
old-fashioned notions, but, on the contrary, are rather
given to astonish us by novelty and startling progress.
I do not recollect that where the words penny post is
inscribed, the price of postage is ever indicated (Califor-
nian locals excepted), but some one in this magazine
informs us that when no amount is named, the postage is
to be understood to be one cent. So here we have another
anomaly, viz., a penny post carrying letters for a half-
penny each. Truly, John Bull was more consistent; for
in the olden times when, on account of the great size of
London, the local post was charged twopence, it was
called the Twopenny Post ; while in the provincial
districts the same service was charged a penny, and
properly called the Penny Post. Perhaps some of your
numerous readers can elucidate the matter, or explain
away this apparent inconsistency.

Again, the remarks hitherto published on the trio of
Blood's, which for distinction's sake I term the acrobats,
are anything but satisfactory, to my mind, as regards
the lithographer's inscription compared with the name
supposed to appear on the house in the left-hand corner,
Mr. Atlee in his excellent notes on the United States
Locals, declares the inscription at foot ofNo.,111. (vol ix.,

p. 162), to be LTTH. OF WAGNER AND MC GUIGAN, 100,

chestnut street, and at right-hand corner, J. smith.
Now, it is a remarkable fact that this No. 111. type is
the only one of the three among the best class of reprints
or imitations (a set of which has been in my collection
fur at least eight years) that has not this or a similar
inscription. My 'No. III. has t. sinclairs lith.
unmistakably clear, and no name whatever to the right.
My Nos. I. and II. types have lith at (not of I think),
avagners (here about six letters indistinct), 100, chest-
nut st. (not street) ; and at right-hand corner sciimitt,
or schmidt ; and I must say it is much more likely that
a man with the German name of Wagner should have a
workman named Schmidt, instead of plain J. Smith.

To increase my perplexity, the writer on the article,
"Postage Stamps at Auction" (vol. s., p. 49), asserts
that the name Sinclair (not Sinclairs) is plainly visible
on the house above ithograph. Now it is remarkable
that on Nos. I. and II., which alone have the word
itiiograph, and possibly, though too indistinct to iden-
tify, Sinclair also, should be signed WAGNER, while
No. III., which is signed t. sinclairs, is totally innocent
of any inscription on the house.

Of course, writing a? I do from reprints, or it maybe
worse, I labour under a great disadvantage in substantiating
my assertions, and therefore they must be considered as
mere suggestions rather than positive facts. However, I
court inquiry, and ask for information.

Clifton. FENTONIA.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Subscriber, Birmingham.— The 10 c. Confederate
States, of which a specimen was given in the October
number, was issued in 1863.

A. R. — We are much obliged for your list of the
portraits on the Argentine stamps, as also for communi-
cation of Swiss official postcard.

E. It., Eton College. — The 81 and 108 paras Moldavia
are priceless; an original 210 c. Montevideo is worth
probably 30/- ; the other stamps named by jou vary in
value from a shilling to sixpence. Are you sure your
Moldavia and Montevideo are genuine ?

Mr. M. Isaacs, Newport, Mon., says, in reference to
Mr. Killick's queries last month, that he has postmarked
copies of the 7 sch. Hamburg imperf., the 2 anna green
Indian, and the circular Moldavian, Is Mr. Isaacs
quite sure that his circular Moldavian are genuine ?
Very few genuine copies of this issue are known to exist.

Incognito.— 1. The o c. adhesive Uruguay, with the
letter c omitted from the word centeaimos, is one of several
known varieties. — 2. On again examining the specimen
of the latelv-issued 9d. Victoria, whence we described
the type, we rind it is watermarked 10 ; we cannot explain
our quoting the watermark as 9 otherwise than as a slip of
the pen.

H. J. H., Newham. — We have no hesitation in pro-
nouncing your 2 rls. blue P. S. N. Co., postmarked with
concentric circles, to be a forgery.— 1. Probably the 4d.
and os. English will appear sooner or later with coloured
corner letters on white ground. — 2. The assumption by
Napoleon III. of the victor's laurel crown followed on
his successes against the Austrians in 1859.

A London Collector. —We gladly accept your
offer to communicate to us any information respecting
newly-issued stamps, and tender you our best thanks for
sending us the new Argentine values for inspection. —
You speak of Hungarian cards which have been counter-
minded; is not this a clerical error? Do you refer to
the foreign Roumanian post cards mentioned in the
letter from you, which we publish?

Claveuhouse sends us an impressed halfpenny stamp,
cut from a supplement of the Illustrated London News,
issued in 1851. It has the crown and heraldic flowers
in a mantle, with one above and iialitknxy below.
On the left-hand side is the name of the journal, and on
the right the word supplement. The impression is in
red, and is interesting as in some sort the forerunner of
the halfpenny stamp, although we fancy that in reality
the supplement of the paper could not have been sent
alone through the post.

END OF VOL. XL

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES

3 9088 01549 3281

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